


Starco Vs. The Forces of Evil

by blackwolf667, StarryEyedButterfly



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Fanmade Season 5, Gen, Post-Cleaved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2020-03-26 11:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19004776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackwolf667/pseuds/blackwolf667, https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryEyedButterfly/pseuds/StarryEyedButterfly
Summary: Star and Marco have cleaved their worlds together, ending the reign of magic and queens. Or so they thought. As life settles on Earth-ni, old enemies arise and new problems threaten the balance of peace and power in the new world





	1. Our New World

**Author's Note:**

> Hello one and all, and welcome to this fanmade Season 5 fanfic! This is a collab between me and StarryEyedButterfly (check out her art and stories, like seriously), and I will post links to her fanart for this story when I get them, so stay tuned for that!

At first, it had been a normal day in Echo Creek. The blistering hot sun baked the sidewalks and the roadways until they buckled and oozed in some places. Cars clogged the roads, carrying people fleeing the heat for the ocean. Those who were left behind tried to endure the best they could by staying inside or crowding public pools or by lounging outside on patios. It was summer; there was no need to rush around after all. The season of relaxation after a long year of school. Or so the townspeople thought. At roughly, one o’clock, a force like an earthquake split the ground around Britta’s Tacos—a local favorite eating place—and buried the building and cracked parking lot in thick black sludge. The news claimed it was a gas leak caused by an earthquake, which seemed like a likely explanation. Earthquakes were a part of life in southern California. They rattled plates and hanging picture frames on almost a weekly basis. As long as the buildings weren’t destroyed, all was well.

But was it _this_ time? Just when the citizens of Echo Creek were lulled into complacency, a bright explosion rocked the city. Screams filled the air. Women clutched babies, spouses held each other, friends held hands. It was a nuclear bomb or something—the end of the world. And it was in a way. As the light faded, Echo Creek was reborn into a magical world no one had ever seen before. Magenta and turquoise aurora floated lazily in a sky full of exotic moons and stars that shimmered in exotic constellations. Strange buildings jutted out of random places all over the city. Some were simple thatch-roofed huts, while others were proud castles that stood taller and grander than the skyscrapers downtown. The biggest of them was rundown and abandoned, but the pink mushroom roofs jutted into the sky. Buildings were not the only new things in Echo Creek. The population increased by several million people, who were dressed like peasants from a Renaissance fair. They spoke in broken, hillbilly accents but seemed decent. Then _they_ came—the monsters.

The world was suddenly populated with severed flying unicorn heads, giant beasts, sentient pigeons, mermaids, and other weird creatures. They stepped on houses, covered trees in webbing, chased around people, picked up cars, and tried to fight helicopters. With the world turned upside down, panic set in. Hysteria flooded 911 operators with calls, sent for the US Army, and called in news reporters from around the city. No one knew quite what to do. First responders and the army were trained to deal with natural disasters and foreign threats—this was neither. Bullets bounced right off of the larger monsters like rubber pellets and crazy barbarian people riding eagles knocked the guns away like nothing. Soon, even trained military scattered in fear, and the pandemonium caused the citizens of the city to go crazy. They screamed into microphones and news cameras that they were all going to die. They tried to flee in their cars but got stuck in random bogs and by monsters. Echo Creek was in chaos.

Yet in the middle of it all, on the outskirts of town where the Stop N Slurp met a vast cornfield, two teenagers were locked in a tight embrace. Star Butterfly refused to let go of her boyfriend, Marco Diaz, for a second in fear that he would slip away again. This had to be a dream. Just had to be. One minute, they were stuck in the dying Realm of Magic as it crumbled and died, and the next she was running towards a collapsing portal. There was no way she made it on time—it was too far away. But the pair of familiar and comforting arms around her told Star otherwise. She buried her nose into Marco’s hoodie and savored its sweet scent. It reminded her of long nights eating nachos together, of tiring adventures around Earth and Mewni, of pig-goat barns. It reminded her of home. _Marco…_ she held him tighter. His gentle hand rubbed her back, and she could feel his chest heave a bit as he let out relieved tears.

“Don’t cry,” she wiped them away and choked back her own. “I’m here, Marco.” _Where I belong_ , she nestled her head under his chin. This time, she remembered to mind her devil’s horn headband to prevent the tips from poking him.

“I thought we’d never see each other again…” he breathed. “For real this time.” The universe had conspired against them many times, yet it failed to keep them apart forever. Star brought down an entire castle to free Marco from Toffee, and Marco searched all over Mewni for her when the rats invaded. No matter what, they always found each other like a compass trained on finding north. They were Star and Marco—a force that could never be separated, even by cleaving dimensions.

“I know,” she replied simply. Her mind could not comprehend a future without her Marco in it. If the portal had separated them, then she would have spent a thousand lifetimes finding a way through even without magic. _I’d crawl through the fabric of space just to be by your side_. That wasn’t an empty threat either.

Marco buried his face in her shoulder for a second, taking in her scent. “We belong together,” his voice was muffled against her blond hair. “I mean it—it’s why I stayed in the Realm of Magic.”

“That was incredibly stupid of you,” she giggled. His bravery impressed her, especially since Marco started out as a rule-bound Safe Kid when they first met.

He playfully frowned, “I wasn’t about to never see my girlfriend again.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” She said teasingly. Hearing the word from his lips made her spine tingle. How long had she waited for this moment? How long had she suffered their extraordinary bad timing? While being Marco’s best friend was great and all, being able to love him fully felt _much_ better.

Her response made the bashful teen realize what he had said and blushed, “Too soon?”

“Nope,” she smiled. “It’s perfectly fine.” Although they confessed their love a mere few days ago, they already felt more like a long-married couple. “I love you too, Marco.” _Enough to create this new world with you_ , she ran her fingers through his hair.

Marco gently guided her to his lips, and they melted together in a passionate kiss. Through touch, they communicated fully their fears of being separated again and their joy at being together. _This is the best kiss ever_ , she wrapped her arms around him. Of course, they had shared a couple before, but the passion of this one was over the moon. Marco let his hands drop a bit lower on his waist, showing that his days of being a shy guy were over. _I like the new bold Diaz_ , she almost giggled.

“Ew, get a pig-goat barn!” A familiar voice heckled at them.

Star and Marco, still in mid-kiss, opened their eyes and saw that they were surrounded by a hundred people, including many of their friends and family. For the most part, they cooed at the two lovers, especially the Diazes. Eclipsa and Globgor shared a knowing glance, and River stared at the boy wrapped around his daughter with protective blue eyes. _I can explain…_ Star pulled away from the kiss. Marco pulled his hood over his burning cheeks but still held her hand. _Could this get any more embarrassing?_ The blonde thought with a deep sense of embarrassment. Suddenly, she noticed a team of news reporters with an army of camera lens trained on her and Marco. _Oh, corn…_ She could envision the headlines now: two teenagers makeout while Echo Creek is practically destroyed. If Star wasn’t so mortified and love-drunk, she would have dragged Marco away in a hasty retreat.

 “Well, there you have it, folks,” a newswoman spoke eagerly into a microphone. “What a day it has been in Echo Creek California: earthquakes, monster attacks, and blossoming teenage love.” Star and Marco shared a mortified glance as the camera zoomed in on their faces to broadcast around the world. “I love a great love story in the midst of crisis,” the woman chuckled. “How cute. What are your names.”

“Uh…,” Marco recovered from both the kiss and embarrassment. “I’m Marco Diaz and this is Star Butterfly.”

“I like that,” the woman replied. “Hey, Chuck, put up a banner that says ‘Starco wins’ or something.”

_I think I’d rather be stuck in the Realm of Magic_ , the blonde girl huffed. Her eyes swept the crowd and the combined dimension before her. The sight was incredible. All of Mewni and Echo Creek had become one—just like her and Marco. Perfectly cleaved together. _Kinda reminds me of that wand adventure with Glossaryck_ , the thought of her old mentor made her sad. He disappeared along with the magic she destroyed. _He said he was proud of me_. But Star knew the real work was ahead. Now, Mewmans, monsters, and humans had to learn to share the new world together, and it would be no easy feat. “ _You can do it, kid_ ,” she could have sworn she heard Glossaryck’s voice in her mind. “ _You both can_.”

Feeling a rush of responsibility, she gently took the microphone from the reporter, “Citizens of Earth and Mewni…er, Earth-ni. I know things have gotten a little weird today but let me explain. My name is Star Butterfly, my family used to rule a magical dimension of monsters and Mewmans. A lot happened and, well…I had to destroy the magic and the era of queens.” She sighed and placed a hand on her smooth, unmarked cheek. Her decision was the right one to stop Mina from killing all of the monsters, but it still hurt. Seeing her distress, Marco wrapped an arm around her and smiled. _You still look beautiful to me_ , his eyes said, giving her courage.

_Thanks_ , she mouthed to him, then continued to address the people, “I don’t know _how_ this happened, but the magic brought the dimensions together—” _Because it wanted Marco to be with me_ , she left out that part. “—We have a lot to figure out, but I believe we can build a great world together.”

A round of applause sounded from the gathering crowd, and Star handed the microphone back. _I sounded like a queen_ , she marveled at the maturity and strength in her voice. Hopefully, her words would start everyone on a peaceful path. The old Butterfly monarchs ruined Mewni with their hatred and fear of monsters; Star was going to make sure that never happened again. This was a new start.

The reporter thought for a second, “A new world, a new people, a new love. We’re going to take a quick break on our special coverage of the Echo Creek incident on ENN. Stay tuned.” Thankfully, the crews moved off to interview other people, taking the wandering crowd with them. Only Star, Marco, and their closest families and friends remained.

“But the Merge raises a lot of questions,” she turned to see Moon approach. Star couldn’t read the emotion swirling in her mother’s icy-blue eyes and flat voice. Was she happy? Upset? Angry? Their relationship was still rocky after Star discovered her own mother was working with Mina to dethrone Eclipsa and her monster husband, Globgor. How could the girl trust Moon anymore? Her hatred nearly killed all of the monsters in Mewni and Star’s friends.

Star skeptically looked at her mother, expecting the worst since Moon used to criticize her all the time when she was a princess. Nothing was ever good enough for the famed Undaunted Queen. However, Moon gently placed her hand on Star’s shoulder, “I think we’ll talk about the ramifications later. You and Marco have had a rough few days. Why don’t you two take the afternoon off.”

“Really?!” Star squealed with joy and gave her mother a crushing hug. “Thanks, Mom!”

Surprised by the gesture, Moon froze for a second then rubbed Star’s back, “You’re welcome, sweetie. Don’t have _too_ much fun.”

“If you do, use protection!” Eclipsa shouted with a mischievous smile.

Marco’s face turned redder and he reached for Star’s hand, “Let’s just go…”

Star and Marco walked down the street; their fingers intertwined as they took in the alien sights around them. Dragon cycles flew overhead, causing quite the fright for a group of humans below. Marco’s daydream came to an abrupt stop when his eyes caught a familiar beanie-wearing girl, who was sitting up on a stretcher and playing what looked like a game on her phone. 

“Janna, you’re alive,” Marco exclaimed as he rushed forward with a wide smile.  Janna looked up from her game and gave a smirk.

“Of course, I am, Marco,” she chuckled. “Sixty seconds like I said. No big deal. By the way, what happened while I was out cold?”

Marco tried to think of a response. It wasn’t exactly same-old-same-old, and things for the entirety of Echo Creek and Mewni were pretty weird, to say the least. “Well, you see, it’s a long story.”

"Let me guess,” the beanie-wearing girl interjected. “You and Star are so in love with each other that you combined Earth and Mewni together.”

The boy felt his heart leap into his throat, completely caught off guard that she knew. At the same time, he wasn’t surprised. “What? How did you-”

“It’s Janna,” Star said, cutting Marco off. “Of course, she knows.”

Janna looked back down at her phone. “Get a portal you two. Well, I guess ya already did. Figures.”

Star and Marco looked at each other and smiled. Grasping one another’s hands tighter. Marco looked away from his girlfriend and looked at Janna with sincere gratitude as he spoke. “As weird as you may be, I gotta say, I owe you one, Janna.”

The girl looked up from her phone and gave a smile to the boy. “No problem. I could always tell how much you two mean to each other. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to convince the doctors that I am literally part-demon.”

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Star said, dragging her boyfriend forward slightly. “Bye Janna Banana, see you soon!”

Star and Marco walk away, waving to their friend as her figure grows smaller and smaller in their peripheral.

* * *

 

As the couple continued their journey through Earth-ni, as they dubbed it, they walked past their old high school, Echo Creek Academy. A few kids and teachers stood outside on the courtyard, talking amongst themselves about the stream of events that had occurred not even an hour ago. Star and Marco didn’t bother to stop and say hello, as Star’s old nemesis, Brittney Wong, was front in center. However, the blonde almost got the wind knocked out of her when she was embraced into a bone-crushing hug that came out of seemingly nowhere.

“Starrrrr, I am so glad you’re alive! You won’t believe what just happened,” a raspy voice exclaimed. Star looked down to see Starfan13 hugging her tightly.

All of a sudden, over the horizon of the pavement came Jackie Lynn Thomas and her girlfriend Chloe, and Oskar Greason. They stopped in front of the three teens, trying desperately to catch their breath after stopping.

“Woah, you saw it too,” Jackie huffed, overhearing Starfan13 moments before. “It was totally bizarre! Chloe and I were just sitting on a bench when Marco asked to borrow my skateboard. Next thing you know, there was a loud bang and a flash of light, and the sky turned all weird and shimmery.”

“I got it all on camera,” Starfan13 giggled. “This is so going on my blog.”

“Yeah guys, it was pretty strange,” Marco interjected as he looked at Star. “I’m not entirely sure what happened either.”

Jackie smiled at Starfan’s remark, but her look turned into one of concern as her eyes panned over to Star. Something seemed… off. “Woah dude, what’s up with your face? You alright?”

“My face,” Star inquired, tilting her head slightly. She was caught off guard as the fangirl grabbed her cheeks roughly and examined them, squinting as she inspected both of her cheeks carefully.

“Yep, something is up! Star doesn’t have her adorable hearts anymore!”

The blonde gently put her hand to her pale cheek and rubbed it before speaking. “Yeah… I uh, well, to put it simply, I had to destroy the magic in my home dimension to stop the era of queens. A lot was happening, and it was our only choice. The cost of doing that is well… my magic and hearts. And apparently, the dimensions cleaved together as well… for some… odd… reason.”

The teens looked at Star with concerned as they took in her explanation, looking amongst themselves. Oskar finally piped up after a few seconds of silence.

“Sounds like the two of you have been through a lot the past few days since I let you guys borrow my car. 

“A whole lot,” Jackie added, “I’m glad you both are safe.” Chloe nodded in agreement, and Star and Marco both smiled at both of them.

“A whole whole lot”, Starfan13 also added, giggling as her eyes caught sight of Star and Marco’s tightly intertwined fingers. “Star has a boyfriend!”

Star and Marco stood there like deer in headlights, looking at each other and blushing. “I guess she does,” Star said softly, looking at the brown-haired boy whom she loved so much.

“Awww,” Jackie cooed. “That is so sweet! I knew the two of you would get together sooner or later!” the skater girl beamed brightly as she punched Marco’s shoulder playfully, causing Marco to grasp his arm in slight shooting pain.

“Ow! Hey!”

“Classic Mango,” Oskar said briefly.

Starfan13 giggled maniacally as she ran around the couple eagerly. “STARCO IS CANON! AHAHAHAHAHA! I totally need to put this on my blog!” She got out her phone and snapped a few pictures of them.

“Starco,” Star said, shooting a half smile as she rested her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder, “I kinda like it.”

“Hehehe,” Marco said, his face turning red. He quickly grabbed Star’s hand and began to pull her away. “Uhhh, I really think Star and I should be on our way. We have a lot to take care of.”

“Alright,” Jackie said, waving at the both of them. Catch you dudes later! Stay safe, if you know what I mean.”

Starfan13 giggled, “Star and Marco sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-”

Marco blushed more intensely as he tried to drag Star away from the scene.

“Say, Star,” Oskar began. "Do you still have my car? 

“Uhh,” Star said, laughing nervously. “Well, you see, it kinda got deleted when I destroyed the magic.”

“.... Well, that’s okay. I’ll just by another with my weekly paycheck.”

“Alright,” Marco interjected. “See you guys later”

And with that, Star and Marco continued their stroll through their new world.

* * *

 

Their rooms were about four blocks away now, and the thought of laying down and relaxing plagued their minds more than ever, especially with what they had been through. However, they were stopped again by a certain demon of sorts.

“Oh, hi Tom-” Marco said before he got cut off.

“You guys, you gotta help me,” the demon cried. His mascara was streaky and running down his face as tears filled his eyes.

“What’s wr-” Star said before she got cut off.

“I can’t get back to the Underworld! My fire powers stopped working after everything got all weird! There was a flash of light, then boom! All of a sudden, my fire stopped… being all fiery. To put things simply, I can’t get back to the underworld to see my family!” Tom sobbed and put his head into Marco’s chest, causing the boy to lightly pat his hair.

Marco and Star look at each other nervously, and the boy continued to stroke the demon’s hair as he tried to comfort him despite not knowing what to say.

“Oh man… Yikes, that’s rough, buddy.” Marco rubbed his hoodie as black dots started to speckle it. “Ugh, this was clean too.”

Tom sniffled and wiped the runny mascara under his eyes as he stood up straight. “Is there anything you guys could do? My mom is probably worried sick.”

“Uhhh,” Star trailed off, rubbing the back of her head. “Maybe ask Janna? She’s an expert with that kind of stuff.”

“Okay. Thanks anyways, guys.” The demon turned to walk away but stopped as he remembered something. He turned his head to look at his friends. “By the way, are you guys… you know…”

“Yep,” Star said quickly.

“Yessss,” Tom said clenching his fist, “I knew it! This is awesome!”

Star wrapped her arm around Marco’s waist as they watched Tom walk away before continuing the walk to their rooms.

* * *

 

Their rooms were about two blocks away now and were in plain sight. Just up the hill and they could turn in for the night and relax and wash this crazy day away. They needed time to take it all in, and the thought made them want it even more. Star’s legs were going to give out any minute now, considering the fact that earlier that day she ran across the entirety of Mewni just for the chance to see the love of her life again. She stopped and doubled over, putting her hands on her knees as she huffed and puffed, the breath nearly gone from her lungs.

“Why does everything need to be so far awayyyy,” Star groaned.

“It will be okay, Star,” Marco reassured, not too far behind her, “after we get home and freshen up, we can grab a bite to eat. Whatever you want.”

“Food does sound good right about now,” Star said, her stomach growling audibly. She gently patted her tummy as she stood up and looked at Marco with determination. “And I know just the thing that can get us there even faster.”

“What’s that?” Marco watched as Star waved her hands.

“Summoning Cloudy Charm!” Nothing happened. “I said… SUMMONING CLOUDY CHARM!”

“Uhhh, Star? You don’t have ma-”

Star let out a frustrated growl as she continued to wave her hands around. “Summoning. Cloudy. Charm.” Nothing. Her denial was fading, and the reality started to pour in. Star Butterfly, the magical princess was no more. She was a regular human like everybody else, and the thought was jarring to her. Star growled and held her head, shutting her eyes. “Ugh, why isn’t it working?”

Marco heard soft whimpers come from the girl, and he walked up behind her and patted her back. “Are you okay?”

The girl sobbed and grabbed him tightly before crying into his chest. Marco frowned and gently patted her head as she cried. Star looked up at him her eyes welling with tears.

“M-Marco? I’m glad I destroyed the magic, and I’m glad to be here with you… but… why does everything need to be so difficult without it? I can’t even use Cloudy to get to places quickly. No more Narwhal Blasts or Warnicorn Stampedes. No more hearts… Who even am I anymore?”

Marco pulled her close and hugged her, which she returned. He then grabbed her shoulders and wiped her tears, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. “You are Star Butterfly, an amazing girl with an even more amazing personality.”

“But…” Star sniffled, “I have no magic.”

“Who cares?” Marco gently grasped her shoulders. “You think I fell in love with you because of magic? No. I fell in love with you because you’re… you. With or without magic, you’re still you, Star. You don’t need magic to be yourself.”

The girl smiled, wiping a tear rolling out of her eye. “Thanks, Marco…”

“You’re amazing,” Marco whispered.

Star smirked. “You’re pretty amazing yourself, Diaz.”

A light blush appeared on the boy’s face, and he gently pushed his finger into her cheek where her hearts once were, causing a giggle to escape from Star. His other hand went down and gently squeezed her hand. “Now, let’s go home. How about I make you some nachos later?”

Star sighed as they walked, hand-in-hand. “That sounds great.”

* * *

 

Star felt relief wash over her as she walked to her room, opening the door and taking in the feeling. She smiled as her eyes scanned her room, seeing everything still intact. “Finally, home sweet home,” she sighed.

All of a sudden, Star heard the barking and zapping of… laser puppies? The puppies ran to the girl, knocking her down and licking her face, their tails wagging happily as their eyes zapped everything in sight. Star giggled, and picked up a puppy and placed it in her lap. As she looked at the puppy, she grew more confused. “Laser puppies? I thought I destroyed the magic?”

Marco walked to the doorway but was surprised to see the three puppies surrounding his girlfriend. “Star, I’m almost ready to… Wait, laser puppies?”

Star looked at him firmly. “Marco? Does… magic still exist?”

* * *

 

Night fell on Earth-ni, dimming the sparkling sky to a muted dark navy that was just a hair lighter than black. Although the last of the sun had disappeared under the waves of the ocean, the moons of Mewni and the aurorae provided a nice glow to light the sky. It was just enough to cast faint shadows but not too much that the stars were obscured. For the most part, the inhabitants of the cleaved world were getting used to their surroundings by taking long strolls in the mild evening. So far, the drama of the event had simmered down. Monsters were learning to mind their large steps, Johansens stopped terrorizing people with axes, and airplanes learned to dodge Pony Heads and giant eagles. All in all, the Cleaving—as some started to call it—seemed to be transpiring peacefully. _For now_ , a stern pair of icy-blue eyes narrowed.

Moon stood on top of the Monster Temple alone to watch the sunset over the new dimension and reflect. She had to admit, Earth-ni was a beautiful sight to behold. Mewni and Echo Creek fit so well together that it was already hard to imagine the two worlds apart. Castles perched on hills and in large empty expanses. Earth houses and Mewman huts blended together around them. Cornfields and forests and parkland merged into one. Even the trade roads fit the layout of highways. A perfectly cleaved world. _Just like Star and Marco_ , the thought put a smile on Moon’s stone face. It was amazing to think they created this world out of the last remaining magic in the Realm of Magic.

A cool breeze ruffled her steel-grey hair, which was tied into a neat, long braid. The warm feelings subsided in an instant. She desperately wanted to indulge in the fantastical idea of a budding utopia. It was easy to let such naivety creep in. A new world meant a new start. Naturally, the old order and its evils were gone. But what would take its place?  Moon went through the options in her head as she paced around the stone hilltop. The first option was that Earth-ni would flourish due to the exchange of idea. Earth infrastructure and technology should help ease the issues that had long-plagued her kingdom. Childbirth, famine, and disease claimed more Mewman lives than old age and war. And the humans stood to benefit from Mewni’s technology since pollution was a big issue for them. The second option bothered Moon. After the honeymoon period, glaring flaws would start to destroy the peace and harmony building. If monsters and Mewmans could not get along, how were they supposed to deal with humans?

The human world was much more fragile and small. According to Star, they bruised easily, knew nothing about dimensional travel or magic, and still believed that they are alone in the universe. _I guess today gave them a shock_ , Moon giggled to herself slightly. But the misgivings still plagued her mind, especially once it moved to the other deeper political issues. Mina survived the Realm of Magic and could be recruiting Mewmans for a resistance army at this very moment. Eventually, Earth-ni needed a leader and protector who could balance the weight of carrying a cleaved world forward as one. Someone with practical knowledge and experience. Someone people naturally looked up to for problem-solving. _Definitely not Eclipsa_ , Moon decided.

She was too flighty and focused on her own happiness to even be a decent queen of Mewni. In fact, she shouldn’t be allowed to lead a pile of ground corn. Eclipsa spent much of her second reign trying to free her monster husband, Globgor, and making the monsters happy while leaving innocent Mewmans homeless. That was why many of them fled to Moon’s yurt camp by the Mewni River. What kind of queen could be so careless? If Eclipsa was too unfit to rule, then it left Earth-ni with only one possibility…

“Moon? Moon where are you?”

The silver-haired queen stifled a rising groan. She wanted to spend the night alone and thinking about the Cleaving, not indulging in a frivolous adventure with Eclipsa Butterfly! Yet Moon knew she had to play nice. They were only on night one of the new world. Better to be peaceful now than cause a war. “Yes?” She tried to sound less annoyed while still facing the kingdom.

“There you are!” The dark queen said in a chipper voice. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. The humans are having a festival at the park, and there are going to be fireworks to commemorate the Cleaving. You must come—everyone will be there.”

_Everyone but me_ , Moon thought to herself before declining the offer, “I have more important things to do. Now that the dimensions are together, we need governance and treaties.”

“Pfft,” Eclipsa scoffed. “Worry about that later and stop being a stick-in-the-mud. Everything is great right now. Mina and her evil Solarian warriors are gone and the monsters are safe. You know that old saying—it’s time to eat, drink, and be merry.”

“‘For tomorrow, we die,’” Moon quoted the second part, which everyone skipped.

“We all gotta die sometime,” Eclipsa shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, and Moon, you should just see your daughter. She’s so happy and in love and it’s _adorable!_ Reminds me of a certain queen and her monster husband.”

_You mean the husband you abandoned Mewni for?_ The retort was on the tip of her tongue, but Moon said nothing. Eclipsa might remember the event differently, but her actions nearly destroyed the kingdom and split the Butterfly dynasty in two.

Moon sighed, “I am glad that Star found a way to be with Marco.” Even if it created a million logistical problems to grapple with. “But I still have a job to do.”

“Oh?” The dark queen stood next to her. “Gimme your list then. Two heads are better than one.”

_We’ll see about that,_ Moon turned to Eclipsa, “First, I think we need to think about leaders. We need someone experienced, flexible, mature, and knowledgeable.”

Eclipsa tapped her chin for a second, “Easy. Star should lead us.”

“ _Star?_ ” Moon blurted. Her eyes grew round in the moonlight like an owl’s. “Why her?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She’s the most balanced of the two of us. Mature like you and forward thinking like me. She’s lived in both dimensions and knows more about Earth than most of us. And she has Marco, who was born here. Wait, she’s going to choose him to be her king... _Aww!_ ”

Eclipsa started to gush over the possibility of Star and Marco establishing a peaceful reign, but Moon remained skeptical. While her daughter certainly had matured, she was still reckless, young, and inexperienced. “I don’t think she’s ready,” Moon simply replied.

“What do you mean?” Purple eyes blazed with subtle fury—like the anger of a mother protecting her child. “She helped me run Mewni and did a much better job than I did. I’ll admit, I was rather careless, but Star did everything a queen should do and more. Why can’t you trust her?”

“She never finished her training.”

“Magic is gone, so it doesn’t matter. Honestly, I think we _need_ the younger generation to take the reins. Us older people are too mired in the past and the sins of our mothers to do anything. Plus, Marco would make a great ruler by her side. He’s a smart and dignified young fellow.”

Moon was about to open her mouth and speak when a golden explosion of light popped in the sky. Eclipsa grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the temple. “We can squabble about this later, let’s go! We can make it before the finale!”

Despite losing her magic abilities, Eclipsa was still strong and fast, and they made it to the gathering hill with plenty of time to spare for the finale. The citizens of Earth-ni watched the spectacle with awe on their faces. In the brief flashes of colorful light, Moon spied Star and Marco snuggling close on a nearby hill face. They were off to themselves, and their heads touched together in love. _They are rather cute_ , she smiled to herself.

“Excuse me,” someone tugged on her sleeve when the finale had ended in a marvelous bang. Moon turned to see the monsters and humans dispersing to head home or to other parties. In their place, a vast crowd of Mewmans gathered on the hill around Moon. When their former queen looked at them, they bowed. “Oh, Moon,” the same Mewman from earlier spoke. “We’re quite afraid of this new world, and we look to preserve our ways. How do we do so?”

Instinctively, Moon’s eyes gazed upon the ruins of Butterfly castle and hatched a plan. It was time to fix up the old fortress—that would rally the people in support of making her queen. _It’ll take centuries if we rely on Mewmans alone_ , the queen sighed until she saw Eclipsa and Meteora sitting on the giant shoulders of Globgor. _There’s an idea_ , “Eclipsa!” She called to her. “I need you for a second.”

Her husband set her down. “Yes?”

_Now, how to frame it..._ Moon thought for a second. “I was thinking about rebuilding the Butterfly castle. It would be such a shame to have a great building be in shambles. We need to make Earth-ni beautiful.”

The dark queen nodded, “I agree, and if we use monsters to help, then it’ll be a great unity project!”

_Oh yes,_ Moon watched Eclipsa fall into her plan smoothly, “We start tomorrow.”

The era of the queens would rise again.

 


	2. Setting Moons/The Butterflies

**Setting Moons**

 

Steam filled the bathroom as Marco slowly stepped out of the shower, wrapped in his favorite pink towel. He moved carefully on the slick wet tile to avoid tripping and landing on his face. The last thing he needed was an ugly black eye, especially on a day like today. Once he arrived safely at the sink, he put on his favorite Mexican mixtape to get into the mood. While _La Calaca Feliz_ played in the background, the boy stared at his reflection in the mirror. “Alright, Diaz,” he mumbled. “Today is the day.”

He tapped his chin while staring at his collection of deodorants and colognes, picking out the best combination to combat his nervous sweating habit. Selecting the strongest deodorant he had, Marco put on a thick layer—five swipes per armpit—and exhaled slowly. _I can do this_ , he channeled the manly spirit from the music. For the past two years, Marco had faced everything the universe had thrown at him: evil monsters, magical creatures, and the Forest of Certain Death. He wasn’t about to let matters of the heart defeat him. However, his resolve swiftly faded when his eyes fell on the picture of Star he kept tucked in his cabinet.

Today was their first date, and the mounting pressure made him want to throw up the Sugar Seeds he ate for breakfast. Normally, being around her was as easy and natural as breathing. They just fit well together—almost as if they were one soul in two bodies. Their complementary natures made them the best of friends and great adventure partners. But what about good lovers? Their relationship had been tested before but never like this. The date _had_ to be perfect to start their romance the right way.

“No pressure,” he muttered while drying his hair and body. None at all. Absolutely none. It wasn’t like he was about to go out with the love of his life or anything. It wasn’t like he had adored Star since they first met and fell deeper in love with her over the course of their friendship. Just thinking about her loving him made Marco’s heart thump loudly against his chest. Beads of sweat formed on his thick brows, and the boy sighed. _Keep it together_ , he willed the moisture away and practiced his breathing from karate. In and out. Positive thoughts in, overwhelming ones out.

Marco didn’t need to worry; his plans for the date were just about foolproof. They were going the White Lotus, their favorite Chinese Restaurant, for dinner and then watch the moons set on the highest hill in Echo Creek Park. The monster newspaper _—_ which was now available in English _—_ said that watching the moons set was a perfect romantic date idea. Between that and the dinner, the plans sounded fun and safe. What could go wrong? _I should have ordered custom fortune cookies with love notes in them_ , Marco realized but let the matter go. Maybe he’d do that next time.

After getting dressed, Marco reached for his cologne and gave it a few puffs in the air. He prepared to evenly coat his body in the musky scent when a knock on the door caused him to trip. The cloud settled on his butt instead, and the déjà vu made Marco groan.

“Are you okay in there?” Star asked, her voice muffled by the door.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” he shot up and shrugged on his red hoodie. He decided to keep it open today, exposing his favorite “I’m a Hot Dawg” t-shirt he got from the Goblin Dogs truck. Steadying his nerves, Marco opened the door of their shared bathroom and entered Star’s room. Instantly, he tripped on the laser puppies, who were trying hard to sniff his butt. “Barco Diaz, that was rude,” he complained when the wiggly puppy tugged on his pant leg.

Star snickered and helped her boyfriend to his feet, “You’re so silly, Marco.”

When he got up, Marco got his first look at his wonderful date in her new outfit. She wore a denim jumper over a red and white striped shirt and dark green leggings. Her new boots looked like giant black lace-up sneakers with little stars on the ankles. “Wow…” he breathed. “You look…amazing.” _Ugh, why didn’t I say beautiful or something?_ He inwardly groaned. “Amazing” sounded too platonic.

“Aw thanks,” she kissed his cheek. “I’m ready to have the best date ever!”

Excitement bounced in her eyes when Marco took her hand, threading their fingers together. “And that we shall, Miss Butterfly,” he said in a mock formal voice. “I have a whole romantic evening planned for the two of us.”

“Can’t wait,” she smiled. Suddenly, her cute little nose started to wriggle, and Star started sniffing his back. “Your tush smells nice,” she commented with a blush forming on her cheeks.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” he muttered.

They left the Monster Temple and headed into downtown Echo Creek where an amazing evening awaited. It was a gorgeous day. The sun started to sink in the shimmering sky, casting growing shadows around the building and trees. Dragoncycles and giant eagles built nests on power lines and roofs, causing them to sag. A herd of unicorns galloped in the street, chased by loose lion-dragons and cars. It was hard to tell how well life was adjusting after the Cleaving since the Mewmans, monsters, and humans tended to stay away from each other. _I wonder if time will change that_ , Marco wondered, but he didn’t see a single Mewman downtown. However, the issues could wait—today was all about Star and their love.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“Oh, just thought we could grab a bite to eat at our favorite restaurant,” he replied proudly.

“But Britta’s Tacos was destroyed.”

“I know. That’s why we’re going to the White—” Before Marco could finish the sentence, his mouth hung open in horror. A giant blue monster sat on the demolished remains of what _should_ have been the Chinese Restaurant, picking at its fangs with a stop sign. Around it, human patrons looked on in disbelief, and the owners cried to police. Marco dropped Star’s hand and immediately searched for answers.

“What happened?” He asked a policeman.

The officer scribbled something on his notepad, “Your little monster _friend_ ate all of the food in the restaurant.” There was a note of scorn in the human’s voice.

“What?!” Marco gasped. He craned his neck to lock eyes with the monster, “Why would you do that?”

The monster shrugged and replied in an unhurried voice, “Can you blame me? We monsters gotta eat too.”

“But did you have to eat _everything?_ ” He shouted.

“It was all-you-can-eat eggroll day,” the monster shifted and sent bricks raining down to the parking lot. “You know you should put a limit on that if you don’t want people to eat everything.”

This was supposed to be his perfect date with Star, and it was ruined. Seeing the hint of sadness in her eyes made Marco feel worse and he slunk off to the edge of the parking lot in shame.

“Marco, wait,” Marco heard her voice say, but he refused to turn around. Seeing her upset made his heart sink into his chest, and he just couldn’t take the pain anymore. The boy stuffed his hands into his pockets and continued to inch away from her.

“Is everything alright?” The concern in her voice was apparent. He couldn’t take it anymore, and he let out a sigh as he saw her shadow creep up beside him.

“This was our first official date, and I blew it. I’m such a failure,” he blurted out, burying his face in his hands. He felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder.

“It’s fine, really it is. We can just do something at home,” Star said, the sadness in her voice leaving a bit.

 _Something at home? This day was supposed to be special_ , Marco thought to himself. He turned his head away. He could sense that she was upset, and it hurt so much to witness. “The first date is supposed to be romantic and perfect, and now it’s ruined. I’m the worst boyfriend ever.”

He saw Star’s eyes widen out of the corner of his eye. “Marco…”

Marco looked up at the sky. His mind was running wild, and he couldn’t control it. “I can’t believe I ruined our first official date…”

“Marco.”

“I mean, who does that,” he asked himself, throwing his hands into the air, “I didn’t even fail this hard when I was with Jackie, and even then, I still failed!”

“Marco!” He felt Star’s lips peck his cheek, which caused his cheeks to grow warm and for him to completely forget his train of thought. “We don’t some special fancy date to prove ourselves,” she began, “I’m just happy being with you, whether that is sitting on the couch watching cheesy shows, going on adventures, or sitting on the rooftops watching the sunrise. Whatever it is, just being with you is enough to make me happy.”

Marco turned to face her, giving a warm smile. “I guess you’re right. Being with you makes me happy too, Star.”

The blonde reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the dirt road that leads to the local convenience store. “How about we stop at the Stop and Slurp, get some snacks and just chill? I know the perfect movie we can watch, it just came out.”

The boy smiled as he listened to the girl talked, but his attentiveness grew into confusion as he saw her look skyward at the late afternoon sky. “Star, what are you?...” The girl grabbed his shoulders and squealed.

“Marco? I know what we’re gonna do today!”

The boy turned his head skyward to see a flock of shadowy figures overtaking the sky, darkening the ground below. Upon closer inspection, he could clearly tell what they were. “Dragoncycles?”

“We can go dragoncycle riding,” Star cheerfully said.

“Uh, I dunno if that’s a good idea. I haven’t flown since I was still on Mewni…. Which is now a part of Earth...ni.”

“Oh come on,” the blonde cooed, “It’ll be fuuuuun.” She ran after the rapidly moving flock of dragoncycles, yelling at them and waving her arms, causing a few stares from people across from the parking lot. “Nachooooos, I know you remember us, you silly goose!”

Marco looked at his girlfriend and laughed to himself. She was so adorable, and it warmed his heart to see how enthusiastic she was about this. He was unsure at first but now he knew. He and Star were going to ride dragoncycles together if it were the last thing they do. They had to, he just had to turn this date around. He ran with her, cupping his mouth with his hands to amplify his voice. “Here girl! It’s me, Marco!”

One lone dragoncycle stops in the sky as the rest of them flew farther and farther away.  Marco puts his pointer finger and thumb into his mouth, whistling. The shadowy figure flew down to the ground, revealing her pale greenish-gray scales and toothy smile. She lands on the ground as the coffee-haired boy ran over and threw his arms around his beloved dragon cycle pet. The dragon returned the affection by giving him a nuzzle and a happy purr.

“Nachos, is that really you,” Marco said, looking at her golden tag. 667 was emblazoned on the front as it shimmered in the dim light of the late afternoon. “It’s really you, you came back! I’m so happy!” Star came over and they both pet the dragon and gave her hugs for a few minutes. After a bit, Marco got to his feet. “Would you be willing to let us ride you? Uh, I kinda blew my first date with Star, here, and it would be great if you could help me redeem myself.”

The dragoncycle nodded, which caused a smile to come from the boy. “You’re the best.” He grabbed Star’s hand and pulled her over to the dragon. The blonde smiled as made herself comfortable on the padded seats. “After you, milady.”

“Hahaha,” Star giggled, “Don’t call me that.”

Marco mounted the dragon cycle, trying to remember how to work it, as his memory was clouded due to the events that had happened over the course of the last few months.

“Woo hoo! Let’s ride,” Star cheered, wrapping her arms around Marco’s waist.

“Okay Star,” the boy said, “First things first: Hold on tightly, dragon cycles don’t have seatbelts, and we don’t want any accidents.” He was answered with a tight hug from his girlfriend in response. Marco, gripping the horns tightly, revved up Nachos. With one hard flap of her wings, they were airborne.

The ground beneath them started to get farther away as ascended into the sky up above. He felt Star’s grip around his waist grow tighter. Star was usually fearless, but this was a whole new experience for her, and with no magic to use as a safety net, she wanted to make sure she didn’t accidentally fall off of Nachos. The boy knew she was fearful, even if she tried to insist that she wasn’t.

With a gentle swoop, the teens glided past the Stop N Slurp where they had met once again, and the entirety of Earth-ni overtook their eyesight. It was hard to see what was going on on the ground below, but they could make out the shapes of people and large monsters roaming the paths. Up above, auroras floated lazily in the sky as it started to darken with the impending evening fall. The moon could be seen faintly in the hazy sky.

Nachos started to pick up speed, her wings slicing through the breeze like bread to a knife, and she dive-bombed down like a roller coaster ride before swooping back up. Star put her hands up in the air, laughing as the thrill of the ride coursed through her veins. Marco could tell that she was enjoying the ride, which made him smile warmly as he laughed. As long as Star was happy, he was happy.

They rode around on the dragon cycle for a few more minutes, doing rolls and dips in the air until the excitement began to die down. They were at the outskirts of Earth-ni, where a few houses dotted the hilltops. The boy caught the side of a hill, and he steered Nachos towards it. It seemed like the perfect place to end their late evening joyride.

Nachos landed on the grassy hilltop, giving a yawn from the obvious fatigue. Star hopped off of the dragon cycle, her legs wobbly as she fell backwards into the grass, letting out a deep sigh as she disappeared into the sea of green. Marco laughed lightly as he went over, sitting next to her. He propped himself up on his arms as he stared up at the sky, which grew darker as night set it to replace the evening.

“It’s… really beautiful tonight, especially from here,” Marco said, breaking the silence.

Star turned her head to face him, her ocean blue eyes sparkling and a smile plastered on her face. “Marco?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank… you,” she said, “I had an amazing day with you today, even if things started out rocky.”

Marco smiled, then looked down at his hands as he spoke. “No need to thank me, Star. This was your idea. I was just the doofus who thought dates needed to be couples staring at each other lovingly while they slurp on the same strand of spaghetti.” 

The comment caused the two teens to chuckle slightly. Star then spoke again. “Yeah, we totally aren’t that. We’re better.”

“Better?” Marco inquired, tilting his head slightly as he watched her roll onto her stomach.

“Yeah,” she began, “what I mean is that we aren’t those cheesy couples that you see on TV, ogling over each other, or chasing after sparkly vampires! We’ve been through so much, this year was crazy. And… I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The boy fell onto his back next to her, meeting her gaze before staring up at the night sky, collecting his thoughts. “This year was pretty crazy, this entire week has been the craziest of all.” He laid on his back next to Star, his eyes watching her, “Let’s just try to enjoy it the best we can. We don’t know what will happen, but no matter what, I’ll be here, always.”

He saw her face light up, as if was told the happiest news in the world. A smile slowly appeared on her face, and her eyelids lowered in a loving gaze. “I love you, Marco.”

“Uhhh, I love you too, Star,” he hesitated. This was the first time he had dropped the L word to her since the magic realm shenanigans, and this time, wasn’t induced by amnesia.

“I hope you don’t mind if I do this,” she softly said, before leaning down to kiss him. Her lips met his in a gentle way, and they melted into it. Marco gently wrapped an arm around her as they kissed with the moon setting behind them, casting a white glow on the two teens.

Soft lights of gold and red illuminated their cheeks, going unnoticed to the both of them.

* * *

 

  **The Butterflies**

 

“No, no, no. The stone must go over there!” Moon yelled. She pointed at a monster carrying a giant block of stone then to the left corner of the construction site. “Look at the yellow X!”

The monster’s eyes darted between the symbol on the rock and the one painted on the red clay. Moon spent days color-coding the materials, hoping it would simplify the process for her builders, but apparently she was wrong. Just yesterday, a Mewman tried to hammer in red-painted nails with a blue wrench. _Why can’t these corn-heads think for themselves?_ An exasperated sigh wheezed out of her lungs. How were they supposed to survive in a new world and rebuild Butterfly castle if they couldn’t match primary colors?

After finally realizing her mistake, the monster lugged the stone to the right place. Moon watched her through ice-blue eyes narrowed into slits. _Post-haste!_ She grumbled when the monster moved too slowly for her liking. The orange sun began to spill over the eastern horizon, signaling a new dawn. Moon let the summer breeze warm her knees, which were stiff from standing all night. As the sun illuminated more of the site, she saw just how behind they were. The foundation should have almost been done by now, but the constant whining over breaks and stupidity put them behind. _It’ll take another day to get back on schedule,_ Moon pursed her lips in a grimace.

“We need to hurry up,” she unrolled the blueprints to find places where they could reasonably cut corners. It was imperative that the castle be finished as quickly as possible. Three weeks had passed since the Cleaving, and Earth-ni was still without a ruler. So far, nothing major had happened _—_ everyone mostly kept to themselves. But how long would the tentative peace last? Twenty days was not twenty years or twenty generations. Sooner or later, something would tear the dimension apart unless someone took up the mantle of being a leader. _The future of Earth-ni rests in my hands_ , Moon made a fist. She would not let them down.

First, however, a leader needed a central location to act as a meeting place and a stronghold of justice and power. When she lived by the Mewni River, the yurt proved to be an excellent hub, but now, Moon’s territory was larger than a camp of Mewmans. Monsters, humans, and her people needed an icon to look to in times of trouble and peace. A castle seemed fitting of this role, especially the great hall of her ancestors. Moon saw herself not only continuing the legacy but adding to it, making it as it should be. The queens of the past failed due to short-sightedness and laziness, but Moon processed neither of these traits. Her title, the Undaunted, wasn’t given to her for no reason.

“Queen Moon,” a Mewman bowed. “Lady Eclipsa and Sir Globgor have arrived.”

 _Late as usual_ , Moon sneered, glancing at the position of the sun. She called for Eclipsa _hours_ ago when it was still night. Her lack of punctuality was yet another sign that the dark queen was unfit to inherit the throne. To the servant, she ordered, “Direct them this way, then get back to work.”

“Yes, my Queen,” he scurried away.

Moon paced along on her perch and watched the builders prepare more scaffolds to secure the foundation and the crumbling walls above them. Everything started to run more smoothly as the workers fell into a rhythm. Along with building the foundation, teams of Mewmans and monsters salvaged useable material, crafted bricks, and tore down old towers. _If only I had my magic_ , Moon sighed, looking at her useless hands. She felt incomplete without it. Old Queen Moon could have repaired the castle with a single spell, but now the fate of Butterfly caste rested in the hands of incompetent, slow builders. Why did Star destroy the magic without a second thought? How would Moon lead without it?

“Good morning, Moon!” Eclipsa waved as she appeared into sight. A cheery grin lit up her face, and she had her husband and daughter in tow. Meteora still slept contently in her arms.

“Morning,” Moon replied curtly. She probably looked like a mess from staying up all night. Her eyelids felt puffy and heavy and her hair started to unravel from its neat braid. If she had slept in like Eclipsa instead of being a responsible monarch, Moon supposed she would be cheery too.

Eclipsa skipped to her side and peered into the ditch. “Looks like we’re making good progress today,” she shot a thumbs up to the monster in the pit below her.

 _Actually, we are pretty behind,_ Moon mentally corrected her, but said nothing.

“How are Mewman-monster relations?” Eclipsa asked. “Globby told me there was a big fight on the first day.”

Moon frowned at the memory. Only five minutes into the project and a Mewman just _had_ to insult a monster’s fangs. Why couldn’t the stupid Mewmans learn to keep their mouths shut? Fights continued to break out over the smallest provocation until the queen bribed the offenders to keep them in line. It was only a temporary fix, but everyone needed to focus their energy on the castle, not on each other. “We haven’t had one in a while,” Moon reported.

Eclipsa smiled, “There’s nothing a little diplomacy can’t handle, right Moon?”

“Of course.” _We’ll see_ , she added to herself.

Meteora woke up and let out a drowsy yawn, flashing her tiny fangs in the sunlight. The sight put a slight smile on Moon’s face. Eclipsa handed the child off to her father, who placed her in a baby carrier. “I’ll be helping the demolition crew today,” he said, rubbing his daughter’s cheek. “Call me if you need me.” His size-shifting abilities returned after the Cleaving, making Globgor a valuable member of the building crew aside from his crass jokes about eating Mewmans. They set his team members off.

“Will do, sweetheart,” she gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Don’t work too hard.”

“Same to you, my darkest star,” he winked.

“Oh, stop it,” she giggled.

Moon averted her gaze when the kissing started up again. _I swear these two act like lovesick teenagers_ , her eyes twitched. She couldn’t decide who was worse about public displays of affection: Eclipsa and Globgor or Star and Marco. Both couples acted like a five-minute separation was the end of the world. It was so unnatural. When the queen woke up early to oversee her project, she and River shared a single kiss before going about their day. There was no need for histrionics.

After the couple finally split, the dark queen unpacked a couple of utility belts from her bag along with hammers and a level. “What is this?” Moon eyed the tools suspiciously.

“I figured if the monsters and Mewmans are working hard to fix up the old place, then we should too,” Eclipsa replied. “Look, Moon, I got you a belt that says ‘I’m the Boss’ on it.”

She had to admit that the gray belt was very practical, just like her, but Moon declined the offer. “A queen’s job is to delegate. If I’m down there in the mud, who will tell the builders what to do?”

“It’s a new age,” Eclipsa started down the ladder. “I think the kingdom would rather a queen work alongside them rather than over them. I won’t tell you what to do, but it’s just some advice.”

The second Eclipsa reached the bottom, she started to work on a section of scaffolding. Following her lead, the monsters picked up their tools and helped their former leader. In almost no time, they had completed a platform fit enough for workers to walk on. The Mewmans marveled at the team’s efficiency but scowled at the same time out of jealousy. _Oh, we don’t have time for this!_ Moon quickly intervened to prevent another fight. “Get back to work!” She ordered sharply.  

Grumbling, the Mewmans crawled back to their jobs under the glare of their leader. _Good_ , Moon smiled. Since she was in the hole, she figured she would give working a try. As much as stepping through piles of mud was undignified and nasty, Moon couldn’t stand on the sidelines while Eclipsa did all the work and received all the credit. It would make the silver queen look weak in front of her people. Sometimes a queen had to do what everything necessary to keep her people happy. Even if that meant getting her hands dirty.

“Nice to see you helping,” Eclipsa tried to lighten the mood, but Moon tuned her out. They worked side by side, driving nails into boards, and hoisting up materials to builders on the scaffold. At first, the transition was a little rough, but she figured out how to run the construction site and work at the same time. It involved assigning runners to deliver her orders and focusing on her own assignment. Within a few hours, Moon, Eclipsa, and their workers had finished setting up half of the foundation. “ _Phew_ ,” the dark queen dropped her hammer. “I’m beat.”

“Me too,” a monster agreed. “I’m ready for a break.”

“No breaks,” Moon replied hastily. “We need to keep going.”

“Moon, be reasonable,” Eclipsa put her hand on her hips. “You’re working these people half to death. A short break wouldn’t hurt anything.”

“I said my piece.”

“But c’mon...they need time off.”

 _Fine_ , Moon motioned for the runners to tell everyone they had ten minutes off. No more than that. Relief filled the air as the workers broke off into little groups to rest in the morning sun. The queen slumped to the ground where she stood, letting the cool wall and dirt soothe her sore back and limbs. Perhaps the project wasn’t _too_ bad; Moon enjoyed getting her hands dirty for once. Eclipsa joined her, but her purple eyes seemed troubled for once. _Sorry life isn’t all rainbows_ , the queen thought.

“I have a few concerns,” Eclipsa said after a few moments. “First, why are you working everyone so hard? Castles aren’t built in a day or even in a year.”

“There’s nothing saying they can’t be,” Moon argued. “We need this place up and running soon!”

“Or what?” Challenge flashed in Eclipsa’s eyes.

“Or...all of the materials will be rotted and unsalvageable,” Moon lied seamlessly. “I mean look at the place, waiting another month will reduce the castle to utter ruin.”

Eclipsa shrugged, “I guess, but have you told Star about this?”

“I want her to enjoy her time as a teenager for a while. You know how miserable she gets when forced into royal duties.”

“True,” the dark queen agreed. “Just making sure you aren’t rushing through this project in an attempt to take the dimension from Star, who’s the rightful ruler.”

Moon dropped her gaze and said nothing, hoping Eclipsa would drop the subject altogether. Luckily, Globgor called her away to discuss something, likely private matters. Alone at last, the queen thought about Star. Would it hurt if she told her about the castle and her plans to rule? They seemed innocent enough, but their relationship was in a fragile place after the Mina incident. _And I’m doing this to protect her_ , Moon convinced herself. Ruling the kingdom would give her daughter stability to live her life freely. She didn’t need to know yet.

“Are you sure about this, Eclipsa?” Moon suddenly heard Globgor’s voice. “I’m concerned about Moon.”

Curious, she crept closer, hiding behind a stone as Eclipsa and Globgor talked. “I am too,” Eclipsa confessed. “She really wants to rule Earth-ni, which worries me. That right belongs to Star and the next generation.”

“Do you think she’ll hurt us again…?”

“I don’t know, but maybe we should play along with her. If not, Moon will grow suspicious.”

 _Too late_ , Moon narrowed her eyes. If Eclipsa was going to play that game, so was the Undaunted queen. Except she wasn’t going to lose.


	3. Hearts & Moons/ Ludo vs. the Forces of Neighbors

**Hearts & Moons**

“What even is this?” Star groaned and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Star and Marco were at the Diazes house for today, as the monster temple still lacked cable. Every time they wanted to watch television, they had to go across town to Marco’s parents’ house. Star stuck her fork in her syrup-covered pancakes, sticking it up angrily as the theme song for _Big City Blues_ played on the TV.

“I dunno,” Marco shrugged, his arm wrapped around Star’s waist. He took a bite of his pancakes and spoke again, his mouth full of syrupy goodness, “Seems kinda boring.”

The theme song of television show blared loudly from the television, causing the blonde to drop her fork and cover her ears. “Ugh, this sucks. Marco, please turn it off,” she snapped.

The nagging from his girlfriend caused his bite of pancakes to fall back onto his plate, completely missing his mouth. “Why, it just-”

“Marco, if you don’t turn it off, I swear to corn I will leave.”

“Alright, alright. Geez, Star,” Marco said, reaching for the remote. He flipped through the channels before the show even went to commercials. “Let’s watch Y.O.U.T.H.S. instead, hopefully, there’s another-”

Before Marco could even finish his sentence, a red bar flashed on the screen, interrupting the marathon of Y.O.U.T.H.S., much to Star’s annoyance.

“What the,” she yelled, nearly flipping her stack of pancakes onto Marco’s head.

“Welcome back to ENN,” the reporter said through the TV, “I’m your host, Deborah Waters, and we’re here with a Special Report of the ‘Great Cleaving’.”

Footage of Star flashed on the screen from the first day Earth-ni came to be. She was standing there talking into the microphone about what exactly happened, a shocked Marco standing by her side. Present day Star squealed as she saw the two of them on the screen, clapping her hands excitedly. “Oh! Marco look, it’s us!”

Marco simply rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Ugh, I look like a train wreck.

Star giggled. “I think you look adorable on TV.”

The report continued as images of destruction started to play on the screen. “Tensions rise between humans, so-called ‘Mewmans’ from another dimension called Mewni, and other ghastly creatures that have populated our beloved city as a result of the Cleaving...”

_What do you mean_ ghastly _creatures?!_ Star reached for the remote and turned up the volume to listen. How dare this woman insult her friends on live TV. And what did she mean by rising tensions? While the blonde had been busy with Marco and her friends, she hadn’t seen any friction between the different races on Earth-ni. As far as she knew, the humans and monsters were managing...okay-ish. At least they stopped screaming every five minutes when a giant spider made a web under an overpass or when unicorns darted into traffic. _What else is going on that I’m not noticing?_ She wondered.

Deborah Waters passed a microphone to a woman holding a crying baby in her arms, “I’m here with Amy Jones, resident of what used to be Echo Creek. Amy, please tell everyone your story.”

Amy juggled her baby in one arm and took the microphone, “Well, my husband and I were living in a beautiful adobe house on Market Street. We bought it just last year. Then suddenly we came back from dinner tonight to see that a group of hairy _beasts_ had just decided to move on top of our roof. At first, we didn’t mind sharing, but they howl at the moon each night, which keeps up the baby.”

“What terrible ordeal, thank you for sharing Amy,” Deborah took the mic back. “And joining us is Jorge Hernando, whose house was destroyed by a giant blue monster.”

“That’s right, Deborah,” the man almost growled. “I had a monster completely destroy everything! My house, my shed, my yard. I worked _hard_ to have such a lovely home, and it’s gone. I have _no_ idea why these monsters are here, but I want them gone. Gone!”

“But monsters are not the only ones causing problems for residents,” Deborah’s voice played over a montage of footage showing Mewmans and magical animals causing issues for the humans. Shenanigans from Pony Heads and Pigeons made planes and helicopters crash into buildings in both the Cloud Kingdom and Earth-ni. Johansens cut down traffic lights, thinking they were trees. _Dad, no!_ Star bristled in horror watching her father parade a fallen sign around with his kin. There were also reports of mermaids getting stuck in sewer lines, and eagles snatching dogs off of leases. Overall, the humans of Earth-ni were miserable and upset. Star and Marco watched in horror with their mouths agape. How hadn’t they noticed that the dimension was in turmoil?

The picture returned to Deborah in the middle of downtown, “‘How did we get here?’ This is the question many residents of Echo Creek are asking themselves today, and with few answers in sight, we wonder how we will go on. This has been Deborah Waters with ENN for this special report.”

“Wow…” Marco remarked when the program went on commercial. “I had no idea things were this bad...Star? Are you okay?”

On the other end of the couch, the blonde curled into a ball and held in tears. She “Starred” up again, ruining the lives of millions because she just had to be with Marco. Her life was defined by selfish mistakes that jeopardized peace and stability. Moping over Marco and Jackie’s first date allowed Glossaryck and the Book of Spells to get kidnapped by Ludo. Her desire for the perfect princess song destabilized Mewni because it revealed royal secrets. On top of that, giving the wand to Eclipsa _seemed_ like a good idea, but there were many severe consequences because of it. _Everything I do is horrible_ , she buried her head in her hands. To answer Marco’s question, she sniffled and wiped away tears.

“Hey, Star,” he wrapped his arm around her. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” She objected.

“Okay...it isn’t okay, and it stinks knowing people blame their problems on the Cleave. But I don’t regret what happened because I can’t live my life without you, Star.”

“I love you too, Marco,” she smiled faintly. “And I’m going to do something about it. I know I’m not a princess anymore, but I have to help Earth-ni find peace and balance.” Courage replaced her despair, giving her purpose. She created this world with love, so it was her job to teach the various beings how to love each other in spite of their differences.

Marco kissed her cheek, “That’s the spirit. We’re gonna figure out how to fix this! I suggest we go on a tour and just listen to what everyone has to say. Then we’ll use our findings to make a concrete plan.”

“That sounds perfect. Let’s go!”

Eager to solve the problems she made, Star led Marco on an investigative mission into the heart of Earth-ni. Of course, her boyfriend got deep into the spirit, bringing a tape recorder, a notepad, a binder, and several writing utensils, all of which he kept in a backpack. He even put on his Marco Ph.D. glasses to complete the “journalism” look he was going for. _What a cute dork_ , Star couldn’t help but smile. He took his job so seriously that he gave her a list of questions to ask each interviewee. The data they collected had to be consistent. _He acts like a prince or something_. In a perfect world, monarchs were supposed to conduct regular surveys of their people to see how they fared in the kingdom, however, none of the old queens ever did that. Which was perhaps why Mewni was such a horrible place. If Star had been in charge, she would have done such a better job of tending to the needs of her people.

The first stop on the grand Earth-ni tour was a cafe downtown, Moon Dollars. Here, humans gathered to drink their favorite caffeinated brew while reading newspapers and chatting about trivial matters. The teens singled out a college student, who sat alone under an umbrella. “So,” Star spun the chair around dramatically. “Heard ya havin’ trouble with the Cleave...why is that?”

“Star!” Marco groaned. “Remember the question order; we gotta collect the testimonies the same way.”

  _f you say so, Prince Bossy-Pants_ , she rolled her eyes and took the note card out of her pocket. “Hello, my name is Star Butterfly, and this is Marco Diaz, my partner,” she read in a monotone voice. “We are interviewing the citizens of Earth-ni about their experiences in the dimension. Please state your name and species.”

The ginger boy straightened his glasses, “My name is Steph. Not Stephan, just Steph. Also, I guess I’m human.”

Marco scribbled down notes on his pad and started the tape recorder while Star went on, “Okay, Steph, what have your experiences been since the Cleave?”

“Oh, you mean the flashy earthquake day? Well, I guess they’ve been alright. I still have to go to school. Guess that’s fine and dandy.”

“Have you had any problems with monsters and slash or Mewmans?”

“I don’t know,” Steph’s response came out more as a question than an answer. “I mostly stay in the Human Quarter, so I don’t know.”

Marco jumped in, “What do you mean by ‘Human Quarter?’”

“Don’tcha know?” Steph replied. “All of what used to be downtown is the unofficial ‘Human Quarter.’ Like only us, humans, come here. The monsters keep to the burbs, and the Medieval people...they just kinda exist around that creepy old castle over there or in the woods. Don’t see a lot of them.”

_But Butterfly castle has been abandoned for months_ , Star glanced over her shoulder at the ruins of the family fortress. No one had darkened the door of the old place in such a long time, she had forgotten its existence. However, the more troubling news was that despite the dimensions being cleaved together, the people were not. Star always thought the lack of mixing was a mere illusion, but it seemed that Earth-ni was _deeply_ divided. Now, they had to figure out why. Although Marco had written several more questions on the card, Star moved onto another human because Steph was kinda boring. She needed someone with the real scoop. Across the patio, an older woman sat with her wrinkled old lady friends doing their knitting. They seemed like perfect prey.

“Excuse me, Ms. Elderly Person,” Star joined them. “My boyfriend and I are doing interviews with people in Earth-ni, and we want to talk to you.” She could feel Marco wondering about questions, but Star didn’t care. A rebel did things their way, plus they would still get the same results regardless.

One of the old ladies spoke up, “How charming. I love it when young people take the time to ask us older people how we feel. You can call me Dorothy; I live on Twenty-Ninth and Laurel.”

“A likely story,” Star said. “So, Dorothy, how ya feeling about monsters and Mewmans?”

Her wrinkled face practically smashed into a pile of flesh when she scowled, “Oh, those dreadful wretches! They ate my husband’s cat, Murphy, one of those monsters. Murphy-kins deserved better…” Her friends patted her on the shoulder in sympathy as she went on, “Anyways, from then on, I’ve stayed in the Human Quarter and away from those fiends, but the monsters aren’t the only issue. One of those Mewmans in a bear suit cut down a telephone pole for lumber! Now, I can’t watch TV.”

_Why, Dad, why?_ Star sighed. Complaints came pouring in from the rest of the cafe patrons and even passersby who just wanted to vent. So far, it seemed the monsters and Mewmans had done a poor job at trying to accommodate their new neighbors and vice versa. Their harsh words and strings of negativity quickly began overwhelming to the blonde and her notetaking companions, who ran out of paper within thirty minutes. “I have a spare,” he proudly announced and kept writing. _Was there not a single good thing that came out of the Cleaved?_ Star began to wonder.

“TIMBER!” A voice yelled and a telephone pole crashed onto a car, causing the alarm to shriek. Everyone turned to see Eddie sheepishly hide an ax behind his back, “Don’t mind me, just cutting this bare tree-thing for lumber.”

The power on the whole block went out as more poles were felled by more Mewmans. “Hey!” A human electrician yelled. “My team just put those up last week after you cut down the other ones!”

“Ooh…” A Mewman woman exhaled. “No wonder the forests keep replenishing themselves…”

“They aren’t forests! They’re telephone poles that carry electricity!” The electrician fumed.

“Who’s Ellen?” The same woman asked.

Suddenly, a group of monsters ran through the street, carrying pitchforks and a frayed rope. One of them looked around, “Have you seen my pet Wormy? He got off his leash?”

“Oh who invited the _monsters_ here?” A Mewman sneered. “Back off, these are our trees!”

“They aren’t trees!” A human shouted.

The monsters grew frustrated, “Oh here we go again with Mewmans assuming all monsters are up to no good! Tommy just wants his pet back, but noooo, we’re here to _steal_ things!”

As the two groups argued, a giant Mewnian Cow-Worm slithered around on the next street over and ate and empty baby stroller and a few vacant cars while humans ran for their lives. A hairy monster—presumably the one called Tommy—chased off after it. “It’s okay!” He tried to calm the crowd. “Wormy is a good girl; she’s housebroken!”

The noise caused Star to tense up and put her hand over her ears. Things were _worse_ than she imagined; in fact, there was less in-fighting on Mewni during the monster-Mewman conflict! The three factions formed a hateful circle and even armed themselves with sticks, rocks, and fists. War was just around the corner... _What have I done…?_ All she wanted was to be with Marco, but their love had destroyed the peace of both of their worlds. Part of her wanted to run far away and find a way to un-cleave the dimension.

“Will everyone QUIET!” Marco stood on a cafe table. His brown eyes flashed with anger in a way Star had never seen before. The combative citizens dropped their harsh words and weapons, turning to the teenaged boy on the table.

“Why is everyone being such jerks to one another?” Marco started his speech. “Yeah, I get it, a lot has changed really quickly. We went from having our own worlds, which we were familiar with and understood, to this great new world. It’s hard to adjust, but it doesn’t mean we can’t try. When I was fourteen years old, I was a happy-go-lucky kid until the day my family took in a magical princess for an exchange student. Adjusting to life with magic and adventure and mischief took a while, and yeah, it was crazy at first. Do you know how hard it is to come downstairs and see a magical jungle in your living room—?”

The crowd laughed a little bit, and Marco continued, “—But you know what? I learned to embrace the chaos, and honestly, I got to the point where I didn’t want to go back to how things were. I wouldn’t trade my adventures with Star for _anything_. I’m a human, and my girlfriend is a Mewman. We made it work _because_ we learned from each other, and if we can do it, you guys can too!”

A few spatterings of applause sounded from some of the audience, but the rest silently stalked away, which at least ended the fighting. It would take time, but the seeds had been planted in their minds. Star smiled as she gazed up at her dreamy boyfriend. The confidence in his stare made her heart flutter, and the wind rustled his handsome brown hair. _He’s the perfect partner_ , the blonde sighed lovingly. “Marco...that was beautiful,” she fawned over him.

He shrugged, “I just said what was on my heart. It’ll take a while, but I think the lesson will stick. The main thing is I think that Earth-ni needs a leader, but we’ll get to that at some point.”

“It was still a great speech,” she helped him to the ground.

“I had to do something. You were upset, and I hate seeing my girlfriend get upset.”

“Aww,” she blushed. Their faces met in a loving kiss, not even caring about potential onlookers gawking at them. _Let them stare_ , she deepened the kiss, which made Marco gasp against her lips. They stayed melded together for several long moments and pulled away when the blush on Star’s cheeks burned intensely. _Marco’s an awesome kisser_ , she giggled.

His eyes grew wide, “Star...your cheekmarks are back!”

_Huh?_ She touched her cheeks and saw the white light dance on her fingers. Then she noticed a red glow on Marco’s face from a pair of blood-red moons. “So are yours…” she breathed.

They stared as the hearts and moons slowly disappeared, leaving behind a million questions in their wake.

* * *

 

**Ludo vs. the Forces of Neighbors**

 

“There,” Ludo set down his warm washcloth and admired his freshly polished beak in the mirror. If he had to say so himself, he was the most handsome kappa in all of Earth-ni. Maybe those mermaids in the river down the street would _finally_ notice him with his shiny beak. They winked at Ludo the last time he walked past before flipping into the water. _All I gotta do next time is say “hi” and get something started_ , images of a future romance seemed alluring. Now that Ludo’s wand-chasing days were over, it was time to start thinking about settling down and giving his parents those grandkids they always nagged about. Their incessant whining over descendants was constant during family dinners. _If I have any, it’ll be after they die_ , Ludo snorted. Regardless, he definitely had a sweet pad since the Avarius castle was rebuilt and fully furnaced. Any potential love interest would love to see the gleaming marble floors and classical artwork of King Ludo.

“I’m a handsome boy!” He proudly proclaimed.

To finish his nightly oral routine, he gargled with a cup of sparkling mud water and picked out the straggling worms left behind. Dental floss fished them out in short order. Worms were the worst part of swamp water, but the minerals were good for his health. _The price you pay to stay beautiful_ , he winked at the mirror, causing it to crack down the middle. _Whatever_ he was going to have Dennis replace the old thing anyway.

Leaving the bathroom, he grabbed his candle and shuffled down the dark halls of Avarius castle towards his room. Night had fallen onto Earth-ni, and one of the full moons shed its silvery light through the topmost window, forming a silver pathway. Gentle snoring from his siblings’ bedrooms lilted in his tiny earholes, making him yawn. _I’ll be in night-night land soon_ , he scratched his back. At the end of the hall, a pair of giant wooden doors opened to reveal the king’s suite. The massive room contained a TV, a collection of King Ludo merchandise from when he briefly took over Mewni, and a tall bed. _Home sweet home_ , the kappa climbed his step ladder to reach his cushiony paradise, burying himself under his satin covers. Having an enormous bed was worth the effort, especially with his cloud-soft pillows made by the Pony Heads. They felt like a warm summer’s breeze against his round head.

The monster settled down and slid his mask over his eyes. “Nighty-night, Earth-ni,” Ludo whispered. “Nighty-night, beautiful mermaids.”

For about an hour, a gentle calm settled over the dimension like a snug blanket. The houses on the streets grew dark, and traffic noises all but ceased except for the main highways, but they were far from the castle. Only crickets, bats, and small tree frogs made a peep in the blackness. _Nice and relaxing_ …Ludo’s mind chanted like a lullaby, his body growing heavier as sleep overtook him. Nothing could disturb his peaceful slumber. Nothing except for the booming bass of loud club music. _Oh, no_ …his eyes popped open under his mask. Not _this_ again.

Colorful strobe lights flashed in the night sky in a dizzying display as the tinny techno music grew deafening. Ludo could hear every note and every lyric from the singers and the drunk party-goers mumbling along. The horrid noise made his ears cry and bleed. He yanked the mask off his face and raced to shut the window. Before he did, he spied a long line of monster and Earth adults snake around the block and down the next street, trying to get into the Creepy Crawly—a premiere nightclub that opened a week ago. Ever since its opening, raucous parties rocked the neighborhood every single night, and the air vibrated with yelling and screaming. _Maybe this will fix things,_ he shut the window and drew the blinds. As soon as he did, an empty bottle smacked against the outside of the castle, shattering into a million glass shards.

_I hate these idiots!_ The poor monster buried his head under his stack of pillows, praying it would muffle the noise. Unfortunately, the noise still bled through without fail. Why couldn’t he smite these lecherous buffoons with some magic? That would silence them...hopefully forever. Suddenly, Ludo could hear something else cut over the music.

“Faster, Marco, FASTER!” The shrill scream of Star Butterfly seeped into the castle. It was followed up by a lot of grunting from Marco’s end. _Oh no_...Ludo froze. They were playing _videogames_ again!

“I’m…trying,” Marco groaned. “I know you like playing rough, Star.”

“I’m gonna…”

“OOOOOOH!!!” A booming crash came from the nightclub, followed by drunken laughter. “DUDE, HE LIKE PASSED OUT!”

Ugh!” A woman replied loudly. “Who gave Tommy another Cold One? He already had _five!_ ”

More arguing, music, and screaming from Star morphed into an endless whine that drove Ludo into a frenzy. “THAT IS IT!” He declared as he exploded from underneath his pile of expensive pillows. “I’m going out there right now, and telling these whippersnappers to shut up!”

With an angry huff, he threw on his pink robe and shoved his bird feet into Mr. and Mrs. Wuzzy, his pair of bunny slippers. He stormed outside, not even bothering to bring a flashlight. Why bother when the disco balls in the club made it as bright as noon in the middle of the freakin’ night! Cold air ruffled his thin night clothes, but Ludo valiantly strode across his slick lawn, tripping on the dew-laden grass. His face fell flat in a puddle of mud, but he didn’t stop to wipe his face. The only goal he had in mind was a good night sleep, and he was going to get it, so help him corn!

He shoved his way through a forest of scantily clad hipsters showing _way_ too much leg. Ludo made a note to self to make ankle-length skirts mandatory again. In the front of the line, a yak monster wore thick sunglasses and a leather jacket. “Excuse me, little dude!” the bouncer snapped. “This club is for adults only.”

“I _am_ an adult!” Ludo waved his fist. “I’m just a little short for my age.”

The bouncer lifted his sunglasses and stared his beady red eyes at the kappa, “I guess you have a beard, but you’re not cool enough to be allowed into the Creepy Crawly.”

“What do you mean I’m not cool enough! I once took over Mewni and stole the Book of Spells!”

“Sorry, kiddo—”

“—It’s Ludo!” The small monster snapped.

“Sure,” the bouncer shrugged. “But you don’t have the right vibe for the Crawly, so get out of line before I make you!” Muscles rippled under a mat of dark brown fur, and Ludo decided that maybe he should try another tactic to get his rest.

“Next!” The bouncer hollered, and a mysterious tall figure in trench coat cut in line.

“I’m totally not a teenager trying to sneak in, I swear!” A deep voice rasped from a shadowy face hidden under a hat. The bouncer sighed and yanked the coat off of Pony Head and Janna. Grumbling, the girls stalked home, plotting a better way to sneak in.

_Stupid loud idiots!_ Ludo kicked an empty can off of his lawn. He saw a couple cuddling on his porch, making him fume with rage. “Hippity hoppity, get off my property!”

He yelled and hurled a can at them. Unfortunately, the object bounced off his awning and smacked Ludo’s face. “DENNIS!!!!!!” He screamed. “GET OUT HERE AND HELP ME!”

In only a few seconds, his tall brother popped out of the door and scooted around the amorous couple. “Yes, big brother?” He asked through a sleepy yawn.

“Go over there and shut down this night club!”

Dennis gulped but obediently went over to the bouncer with his brother trailing behind him like a child behind his parent. “Uh...excuse me,” he tapped the monster’s shoulder. “Yeah, my brother and I are trying to sleep so, can you keep it down?”

The bouncer shrugged indifferently, “I don’t talk to losers like you.”

“Hey!” Dennis snapped. “Don’t you call my big brother a loser!”

“Bring it on, pencil legs!” the monster snorted.

The noise became overwhelming, prompting Ludo to cover his ears and scream. For a second, the world stopped making noise, and even Star and Marco poked their heads out of their window high above the scene. “I’m going to bed!” Ludo announced and stormed off in defeat. “I’m tired of all of you!”

* * *

 

Sunrise found Ludo clutching his sheet to his chest. The gentle rays rested on his bleary red eyes that stared blankly at the ceiling, causing them to blink for the first time in hours. Crusty particles fell on the sheets from them. _I made it_ , he sighed. _They didn’t defeat me!_ And the morning brought with it precious silence. The party-goers were either at home or passed out on the sticky floors of the club covered in various bodily fluids, and the music had died down. _Finally_ , Ludo smiled and snuggled into bed and prepared to sleep.

“Marco!” Star whined. “Oh, Marco this is so _gooood!_ ”

“Easy there, Star,” Marco laughed. “That tickles!”

_Ugh!_ Ludo gave up and stomped down the kitchen for breakfast. Earth-ni might have ruined his sleep, but it couldn’t ruin a good morning meal. At the table, Dennis read the newspaper and sipped on his cup of coffee. “You should try some,” he suggested. “I heard the humans use this stuff to replace sleep.”

Ludo declined, “I was doing well until Star and Marco decided to play videogames again. It’s like seven AM, like don’t they ever stop?”

Dennis spat out his coffee, “Uh… I don’t think they’re playing videogames.”

“Well of _course_ they are. I mean, what else are they screaming about?”

“Uh…” the taller kappa rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well you see, when a boy and a girl love each other _very_ much, they—”

“—Play _Parking Lot Tycoon!_ ” Ludo finished. “It’s a _really_ fun game.”

Dennis sighed, “You know what, we’re just going with that. Yeah, _Parking Lot Tycoon_.”

_I bet they’re stuck on the level with the limousine_ , Ludo sighed remembering how hard it is to accommodate a stretch limo in a tiny parking lot full of horse carriages and convertibles. It took him three weeks to figure out the right combination. “But what do you think I should do about the noise?” He asked. “I just want to sleep.”

“Well, we have two options,” Dennis set down his paper. “We can get your sleep the nice way, or by force.”

“Oh! I love force!” Ludo imagined an army of his relatives and henchmen tearing the nightclub apart brick by brick while the drunk hipsters sobbed. He could taste their salty tears on his tongue and hear their wailing in his ears. _That’s right babies, cry!_ Maniacal laughter slipped through his beak. All would bow to King Ludo, the Sleep-Giver!

“Are you okay…?” Dennis tugged on his robe.

“Sorry...got a little carried away.”

“As I was saying, we can’t use force. It isn’t the old days,” Dennis shook his head. “Instead, we’re going to put up these!” A smile lit up the Avarius’s face when he passed Ludo a flyer covered with information on noise control and the effects of getting a good night sleep. _Are we really going to change the world with a dumb ad?_ Ludo raised an eyebrow skeptically.

His brother tried to remain encouraging, “I know it doesn’t seem like much, but the best way to change a culture is education. If we pass these out to our neighbors, maybe they’ll change.”

Ludo sighed, but he knew Dennis was trying to help and probably spent hours on them. Maybe he should give it a chance. What did he have to lose? If it didn’t work, he could unleash his permanent solution. “Alright, let’s go tell people to stop having fun!”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Should we bring the salmon suits?” Ludo clapped his hands.

“Not this time,” Dennis grabbed a stack of flyers. They dressed and headed out around the neighborhood, posting the pieces of paper on every surface imageable. Doors, trees, telephone poles, fences, and even cars found themselves covered in educational ads about noise. Most of them were immediately discarded by the property owners. Monsters ate them and kids crumbled them up and pelted them back at the Ludo and Dennis. When they reached the nightclub, they plastered the ads all over the building in hopes that the patrons would see at least one of them. Perhaps a poster would survive the night.

The bouncer from last night saw them and skimmed one of the flyers. A bellowing laugh shook his body, “Little bird-man, this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen!”

“I’m not little!” Ludo hissed. “And this is gonna work! If not, I’ll tear this confounded building down, board by board. My minions will saw your tables of sin and tyranny in half, and we shall—”

Dennis scooped up the smaller kappa and placed a hand over his mouth, “Thank you for considering us. Have a nice day.”

Once out of earshot, he placed Ludo back on the ground. “What was that all about?”

“The flyers are a suggestion, big brother, not a threat. We aren’t destroying anything.”

_Hmph_ , Ludo folded his arms. “Have it your way,” he grumbled. “We have one more place to go before we can enact our revenge.”

“Where’s that?”

Ludo simply pointed to the Monster Temple in response.

After climbing the stairs to the castle and inside, they reached Star Butterfly’s room. The door looked exactly the same as if had on Earth, although instead of “Boys Allowed” written on the outside, it said, “Only Marco Allowed.” Naturally, Ludo made nothing of it and knocked on the door. “Is this a good idea…?” Dennis studied the notice on the door.

“I mean why not?” His brother shrugged.

“Coming!” Star opened the door a crack. She wore her pajamas, and her hair was frizzy from laying down. “Oh, good morning, Ludo and Dennis, how many we—I help you?”

_Who’s “we?”_ Ludo wondered who else would be in her room so early in the day. Nevertheless, he handed her a flyer to read. “My brother Dennis and I are on a mission to make everyone shut up at night so I can sleep. We heard quite a lot of screaming from this room each night.”

Star’s face turned red, and she averted her gaze sheepishly. “It’s nothing,” she assured the brothers. “Just a smashing game of...uh... _Parking Lot Tycoon_. Isn’t that right, Marco?”

“Star, you’re not supposed to tell people I’m here, remember?” The door widened slightly, revealing her boyfriend sitting on her bed and buttoning his shirt. When he saw the Avariuses looking at him, he rolled around the other side of the bed to hide. _I don’t see a TV in their room_...Ludo squinted his eyes.

“Oh dear…” Dennis placed a hand over his mouth.

Marco emerged once decent and read the flyer Star passed to him. “These are nice suggestions,” he remarked. “But you have to keep in mind that you can’t tell people to stop having fun because you told them to. You might have to adapt to things a little.”

“Yeah,” Star nodded. “We’re all trying to make sense of the new things in Earth-ni.”

_Maybe they’re right,_ Ludo sighed, crestfallen. No one seemed to care about the flyers, and he doubted they would change their ways. “Well, thanks for taking the time to hear us out,” he said. “Oh and Star, you’ve got a bruise on your neck. You two should be more careful when playing _Parking Lot Tycoon._ ”

The teens shot each other a panicked look while Star covered her neck. “Uh...about that…” she coughed. Dennis yanked Ludo away before she had the chance to explain anything.

* * *

 

Later the same day, Ludo reclined on his couch as the sun went down. Soon it would be night, and the true test of the flyers would come with it. He knew the neighbors probably ignored the information and would party harder to spite him. _Bring it on!_ Ludo made a fist. _I’ll just start the revolution tomorrow!_

“Heya big brother,” Dennis returned from the store. “I just came from Buy-Lots, where you can buy everything for cheap. Guess what I bought ya?” In Ludo’s hands, he placed a giant box of Super Duper Titanic earplugs.

“Ooh,” Ludo marveled.

“Just put them in and you won’t hear a thing!” Dennis likely said something else, but Ludo couldn’t hear with his fancy new earplugs. _Forget about flyers,_ he grinned. _This is perfection!_

When night came, the clubbing resumed, and Star and Marco’s passionate screams echoed into the summer breeze, but Ludo didn’t care. He was fast asleep and very content. While Earth-ni partied into the late hours of the night, a pair of reptilian eyes peered through a pair of binoculars from the distant hills, watching in cold silence...


	4. Loveberry/What Now?

**Loveberry**

“I knew it! I knew it all ‘long!” A woman in muddy, torn armor clucked as she peered through the telescope lens. The sun had bleached her purple hair a lighter hue and dried her body into a thin husk, but she refused to leave her perch on the roof of her shack until she had proof of rebellion. The one she could taste in the air like water vapor before a rainstorm. Now, she had it, and victory spread a smile across her dirt-crusted face, tearing the dried skin at the corners until it bled slightly. A smile well-worth the pain.

At her call, a little man in faded royal knickers shot out of the hut below her. The plume on his hat caught against the doorframe, and he looked on sadly. “Come on, Manfred, make haste!” The warrior ordered. “Got no time to waste ‘round!”

Manfred scurried to her side and looked into the telescope. “There at three o’clock!” She pointed. “Can’t miss ‘em.”

“Oh yes, Mina,” he nodded. “I see.”

“You darn tootin’ ya do. Ol’ Seth of Septarsis has stuck out his ugly nose.”

She had a feeling that potbellied fool would come slinking back like a starved mutt. Change always seemed to bring out dirty laundry like that. Ever since the Cleave, Mina could sense his filth coming. The centuries since his last disappearance had been long and quiet, but she was not deceived into thinking that the nemesis had died. Septarians did not let age claim them; only the sword of a Solarian warrior could bring them down. They knew nothing but violence and bloodshed as enemies to civilization and progress. Just thinking about that lily-livered lizard boy slinking in the shadows made Mina’s blood boil hot under her skin.

Hundreds of years ago, Queen Solaria—praised be her name!—chose the warrior to be her first creation. In her divine image, she fashioned Mina into a super soldier destined to keep Mewni safe from evil monsters. Even now, her oath to the Solaria—praised be her name!—was still to be fulfilled. As the last of the stalwart breed, the warrior refused to fail this time. _I will get my vengeance_ , she vowed. She would prove herself worthy by restoring the rightful order to Earth-ni and vanquishing the monsters once and for all!

“What should we do, dearest?” Manfred quivered and clutched her biceps. “I’m too delicate to go to war.” She smirked at her partner. This was what she liked her about her new boo; his weakness fueled her like logs in a fire.

“There, there, Manny-honey,” she patted his hand. “I won’t let the lizard boy hurt ya or any Mewman.” She grimaced imagining Seth’s gator jaws salivating at the idea of conquest. Knowing him, the Septarian could have an evil monster army battle-ready in mere months—if even. Monsters loved the charisma and ruthlessness of Seth’s race and flocked to him. They would make him their general and ally him with Eclipsa the Monster Lover. _How repulsive_ , she gagged. “Now that we’ve seen that sack of manure, it’s time to enact phase two! Quick, to the shrine, and bring an offering!”

Manfred hurried to the makeshift Solaria—praised be her name!—shrine build down a small gravel path from the hut. In a stone grotto, an image of the Monster Carver Queen glared upon her humble servant. _Only took me a few weeks to carve Her likeness with a lowly spoon_ , Mina admired her handiwork. She worked the days straight through, not even pausing to eat or use the bathroom, but her Queen deserved only the utmost devotion. Though her hands bled and her fingertips were worn down, Mina continued to completion. After a moment of reverence, the warrior lit a candle at the foot of the statue and meditated. When Manfred showed up, bringing a pig-goat, he tied it to a stake and did the same.

“It is time,” Mina spat into the earth and mixed in a drop of her blood to make a paste to smear on her cheeks. She did the same to Manfred, who accepted the mixture with such gladness, he wept. “O Queen Solaria—your name is great forever and a thousand years after—we praise you for giving us a positive sign of the evil in this world!” Mina chanted a prayer, lifting up her lean arms. “Please, O Queen of divine perfection, give us a sign that it is time to act on your behalf and liberate Earth-ni from the monsters!”

For a long time, nothing happened, but Mina still kept her hands raised in hopeful adoration. Although her shoulders burned after a half-hour like a fire, she kept them aloft. Solaria—praised be her name!—required only the greatest sacrifice. Suddenly, an acorn fell from a squirrel’s mouth in a tree, hitting Mina on the head. She bit her lip as the pain nearly jolted her hands down. “Look!” Manfred’s eyes grew large. “It’s a sign, dearest! A sign!”

The acorn was perfectly cleaved in half, so completely that it was hard to imagine it being whole. “You’re a genius, Manny-poo!” Mina kissed him and cradled the broken shell in her hands. “We must undo what’s been done! We must separate the monsters from the Mewmans and annihilate them!”

“Operation: Divide and Conquer!” Manfred cheered.

“Why does that name seem so familiar…?” she scratched her chin. “Nevermind! The pig-goat, Manfred!”

He fetched the hapless animal, leading it to Mina, who brandished her knife. “O, great battle lords!” She prayed, lifting the blade. “Please protect me and Manfred, loyal servants of Queen Solaria—praised be her name!—and carry our foes into the depths of the inferno where they will live in the ruins of our victory forever. Lead us to the battle and let us bathe in the spilt blood of our enemies!”

She plunged the blade into the animal, quickly dispatching it, and smeared the offering on the statue’s heart, cheekmarks, and feet. A grin lit Mina’s face, and she pressed her bloodied hands against her cheeks to leave a mark. “Come, Manfred,” she rose to her feet. “We must go into town and spread the good word to the Mewmans. War is coming!”

“What about the humans, my gracious leader?”

“Hmm…” Mina tapped her blood-soaked chin in consideration.

The new inhabitants of Earth-ni were a weak bunch with no known powers or special skills. They were meek sacks of flesh who feared everything like precious little suckling lambs. But that was their greatest asset too. Mina could easily mold their underdeveloped minds into the perfect foot soldiers to be flung at the monsters. Yes, the army needed fodder to sacrifice in the place of the noble Mewmans. “We shall recruit them too. Bring my sleigh!”

Warnicorns were hard to come by in these woods, so Mina had four normal-sized skunks that she attached to a discarded recliner with sled dog harnesses. She took in a lungful of their stench, smelling victory and the acrid smell like burning tires. “Garbage, Trash, Rubbage, and Cisco,” she called their names as she mounted the seat. “Carry Mama and Papa to victory!”

The animals screeched and lurched forward in their traces and pulled the recliner out of the mountains. It took a few hours to descend into the town, but Mina used the time to ready her tinfoil hats and prepare her speech. In the downtown, humans were on their mandated lunch breaks and a few Mewmans trickled in to grab a bite to eat or shop. _Perfecto,_ Mina brought the bullhorn to her face, “Attention citizens of Earth-ni! You are in mortal danger! The dreaded Seth of Septarsis is back, and he’s gonna end the world! He’s gonna enslave your children and kidnap your wives!”

Around her, the Mewmans cowered in fear and flocked to her smelly carriage, eager to join the fight. Meanwhile, the humans scoffed, rolling their eyes and closing their noses at the stench. “Go home, crazy lady!” One of them yelled. “You’re scaring the customers.”

_Simpleminded fools!_ She snarled inwardly, before saying, “You won’t have any customers if Seth eats them! And I’m no ordinary crazy lady. The name’s Mina Loveberry, and I’m the servant of the glorious Queen Solaria—praised be her name! Mark my words, puny human, the end of your world is nigh. Don’t come cryin’ to me when your wife is snatched!”

“I don’t have a wife...I still live with my mom…” the storekeeper started to sob.

Turning to the Mewmans huddled around her throne, Mina raised a fist, “Come with me, my brother and sisters. Today starts a new fellowship to make Earth-ni great again!”

“Earth-ni just happened!” The humans balked. _Whatever_ , Mina rolled her eyes and led her recruits into the mountains.

There, Mina performed a great sacrifice and anointed all of her new troops in fresh blood. “Rise,” she commanded them. “Rise, O disciples of Solaria—praised be her name!”

They stood up and answered, “May her name be praised forever!”

Mina spread her arms over them, “Welcome to the first day of a new era.” Thunderous applause shook the hollow, and their glorious leader smiled with glee. The new monster wars were coming at last!

* * *

 “Alright,” Mina held a dummy in the face of a Mewman, “What do you do if a monster comes to your house?”

The woman gripped her dagger in her dominant hand and lashed out with a mighty slash. Mina ducked when the tip popped the dummy’s head clean off, depositing the sack on the ground. “I did it, lord Mina! I killed the monster eating my crops.”

“Excellent,” she patted her soldier on the head. “You’ll be an excellent Solarian warrior in no time, Marianne.”

“Thanks, lord Mina,” Marianne clapped her hands together. She turned and bragged to her neighbor, “Did you see that? Mina might choose me to be the first warrior just like Queen Solaria—praised be her name!—chose her.”

“In your dreams, Marianne,” the Mewman rolled his eyes.

Mina hung back and watched her minions sharpen their skills against dummies made of cloth, sand, and wood. _That’s right my pretties_ , she smirked. _Grow strong for mama!_ A week had passed since her first recruitment campaign, and her budding forces were already five thousand strong with more and more joining each day. Manfred said they should have no issue reaching fifty thousand by the end of this month. Training bouts were held in shifts as the alpine forests could only hold so many Mewmans at once, plus many of them were busy helping Moon rebuild Butterfly castle, which Mina fully supported. The ancient fortress used to be the home of the gracious Solaria—praised be her name!—and was far more suitable than the crummy Monster Temple.

The warrior reclined on her plastic folding chair and commanded Manfred to feed her grapes while the exercises carried on. She chewed the little round fruit thoroughly, then sipped her soda. “This is the life, Manny-poo,” she relaxed. “Building a better future. It’s just like havin’ a family.”

“Yes it is, dearest,” he replied on cue. _I trained him well_ , she smiled to herself. It had been a long few months, but the former servant proved to be a loyal lackey. She meant it in an endearing way. Her Manny-poo took the sting out of her fall from grace. Queen Solaria—praised be her name!—allowed the millhorse in the Realm of Magic. It had been shocking, but Mina knew she had a chance to get right with her holy Queen. One day, Solaria—praised be her name!—would look down from wherever her soul rested upon a world ruled by Queen Moon and policed by Mina, Manfred, and their offspring. _That’s what I need_ , a lightbulb went off in her head. They needed to get busy.

She batted her eyes at her man, “Oh, Manny-poo...I think it’s time we think about the future…”

“How so, dearest?”

“Y’know, we need heirs,” she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Give me heirs, Manfred.”

His pupils dilated and a nervous bead of sweat rolled down his face, “Oh...are you sure?” Fear rolled of him, creating a pleasing aroma for Mina’s nose. She loved to taste fear on her pray; it quickened her old loins.

“Lord Mina,” a Mewman bowed. “Sir Merrick wants to speak with you.” Mina narrowed her eyes at the interruption but set Manfred down. When his feet hit the floor, he scuttled away to hide in the hut. _I’ll have to keep him on a leash next time_ , she made a note to put him through another round of obedience training later.

“Very well,” she nodded to her servant. “Bring him here.”

The Maizleys were a family Mina quite liked for their blind loyalty. They were the first members of Queen Moon’s Mewman yurt community, and the first to sign on to the original Solarian Warrior project, which went well until puny Star Butterfly meddled with her hatred of magic. How could Mud Sister thwart natural progress to help the filthy monsters escape extermination? Mina blamed her slack views on her frolicking with the Earth boy, Marco. Humans were only a little bit above the depravity of monsters, but Mina could not decide if she actually _liked_ them either. Should she kill them too to make more room for Mewmans? 

The question was shoved aside when Merrick approached her lofty plastic throne on top of her hut. He saluted, “Hail the Mewman race and praise Queen Solaria—her name be praised!”

“Her name be praised forever!” Mina stood. “State your business, precious warrior.”

Merrick nodded, “My wife and I have a proposition for you, O lord. I think we should bring in the humans. We saw them use...strange magic.”

Maybe Mina was wrong about the weak sacks of flesh. Intrigue sat her back in her seat, so she could listen adequately. “Go on,” she urged.

“You see,” he continued. “My wife and I saw the power of the humans. We were walking home on down a dangerous street, and we saw a human kill another with magic. One of them had this tree branch...but it wasn’t a normal branch. Maybe it was a wand—I don’t know. They held it to their face, and thunder shook the air. Before we knew it, the other human lay bleeding on the ground. A few other Mewmans saw it too, and we started to call them ‘Thunder-Wands.’”

The warrior blinked in shock. So magic _wasn’t_ dead. Truthfully, she struggled with how to make her new Solarian warriors super powerful without Solaria’s—praised be her name!—magic. While swords, daggers, and bows were effective, Mina wanted to be _super_ -effective, leaving not a single monster alive. Now, this human magic sounded interesting. Mina _must_ find a way to get a hand on it in order to ensure victory and restore her rightful place at Solaria’s—praised be her name!—side.

“Sir Merrick, what do ya think will get the humans hip-hoppin’ to our side?” She wondered.

“They appear to be concerned with the same things we Mewmans are: safety, kids, stuff like that.”

_Hmm_ , Mina scratched her chin as the cogs in her super intelligent, analytical mind spun. Suddenly, she just knew a plan perfect enough to show the evilness of the monster, thus getting the “strange” magic in her hands.

* * *

The next day, reporters surrounded a demolished school where an evil hungry monster had tried to eat the precious children inside. While the humans wept and cowered, Mina laughed her butt off and took another bite out of a donut in anticipation. Who knew monsters were stupid enough to blindly follow an ad for “All-You-Can-Eat shrimp?” Of course, Mina knew, and now, she had a group of humans approaching with a case of the “magic.” Such easy prey. A smile twitched on her ancient face when her new pets placed the crate below her throne.

“My lord,” one of them bowed. “All hail Queen Solaria—praised be her name!”

“Praised be her name!” Mina replied. “Did ya bring the goods?”

“Robbed the best stores around,” the human had his henchmen open the case, revealing one of the Thunder-Wands. It was a heavy, odd-shaped thing fashioned out of black metal and wood. It clicked when the human fastened what looked like a wand charger at the bottom. Eager to try the wand, Mina leapt off her perch and grabbed the object. She liked the heft behind it. Heavy weapons did heavy damage. When she tried to look down the hole in the front, the human slapped his hand on hers.

“Careful with that,” he warned. “That’s the business end. Point it only at what you want dead.”

Normally touching Mina was prohibited, but she forgave his trespass. He walked her through how to shoulder the Thunder-Wand, and how to look through the sight on top. “When you’re ready,” he said. “Pull the trigger.”

The Thunder-Wand jolted in her hands, nearly knowing Mina backward as it produced a loud _bang!_ The other trainees scattered at the noise but stared in awe at the aftermath the magic produced. A small stone hurled at a sand dummy, punching a hole clean through the other side. No sword or arrow could do as much damage as human magic. Mina lowered the wand and went to survey the damage herself. _This is perfect!_ She fired again and again, bouncing the metallic stones on the damp earth. Her warriors cheered as the dummy became riddled with lethal holes. Once the magic was empty, Mina held the wonder-working wand into the air, “With this magic, we shall conquer!”

“Praise be lord Mina and her Thunder-Wand!” The Mewmans cried.

“Excuse me, Mina, may I ask what’s going on?”

She turned to see Moon leaning against a tree, prompting the warrior to quickly bow. “Queen Moon, o fair, rightful ruler of Earth-ni,” she chanted. “The humans have given us a tool to subdue these wily lands under Mewman rule once and for all!”

The queen narrowed her eyes, “You mean a gun? I’ve seen those things.”

“Yes, and this Thunder-Wand will kill Seth of Septarsis and get you the throne of Earth-ni!

Moon muttered something under her breath, and turned to walk away, “In that case, you can do your little thing, just make sure my builders get back to the building site on time.”

“Will do, Queen Moon!” Mina turned to her growing army and grinned devilishly. The real Solarian warriors were on the rise.

* * *

**What Now?**

“Welcome to the first annual Leaders of Earth-ni Dinner!” Archibald greeted Star at the entrance to the Monster Temple’s dining room, handing her a program. “Please enjoy your visit...er, actually you live here so nevermind.”

Star stifled a giggle, trying hard to be polite, and dipped her head, “Thanks, Archie.”

All around a massive table, the royal families of Earth-ni gathered in their finest dress and jewels to subtly impress one another in typical royal fashion. Flaunting obscene amounts of wealth was a ruler’s specialty along with sitting still for long periods of time. Nevertheless, the atmosphere remained cordial as the guests exchanged news of their lives since the Cleave, and the friendliness of the royals was attributed to the nice ambiance created by the decorations. Eclipsa had fresh flowers and candles scattered about in neat arrangements and removed the pictures of Globgor razing villages, which were painted in blood. _I’m so glad the Spiderbites didn’t get too offended,_ Star felt embarrassed about the last royal dinner she attended when introducing the descendants of Eclipsa’s ex-husband to their new queen.

Star hung back towards the entrance and observed the royals seated at the table. For the most part, they sat according to family, but the kings and princes were on their feet making rounds to see their friends. Their wives, the queens and princesses, kept a good eye on them, especially since the servants had brought in a new keg of wine. _I really hope Dad and King Pony Head limit themselves today_ , Star watched in dismay as they guzzled down goblets of drink. Normally, the festive mood would have spurred the blonde to act more social, but a glum mood possessed her. She was an outsider this time. The royals had titles, power, and wealth, but Star had none of that now. Even her lineage wasn’t noble. _I feel so out of place_. Feeling nervous, she played with a lock of her hair, which she kept down despite wearing her old princess dress.

“Everything alright?” Marco asked as he tucked the program in his jacket pocket. “You’ve been staring off into space.” He wore his snazzy prince outfit, complete with the brass trim and gray cape. _Why does he have to look so dashing in everything?_ Star sharply inhaled to keep from drooling, and her awestruck expression spread a gentle blush on his cheeks. “Star?” He waved his hand before her frozen face. “Do you need a moment…?”

She shook her head, “I’m fine...just wondering why Eclipsa invited us since I’m not a princess anymore.”

“But you’ll always be my princess,” he stroked her cheek. “And I think Eclipsa wanted us here to support her since we helped save the kingdom.”

“True…”

“Wanna find our seats?” Marco held out his arm in an invitation.

“Sure,” Star replied glumly. They linked arms while Marco read the place cards on the napkins, carrying them closer to the front of the room. _This can’t be right_ , they exchanged a glance when they noticed that their seats were right next to Eclipsa and Globgor. Only the most important and powerful guests sat next to the king and queen. To make sure, Star read the cards herself and spied their names written in gold leaf: _Star Butterfly & Marco Diaz_.

“Wow,” Marco let out a low whistle. “Just look at this inlay…”

On the boy’s other side, Moon noticed and narrowed her eyes before turning away again. _What’s up with Mom?_ Star wondered but sat down with her boyfriend, dismissing the matter. A few of the other monarchs whispered amongst each other about the pair briefly, then returned to their food, causing Star to frown. What massive faux pas did she commit this time? In the past, her wild behavior made a lot of enemies out of the posh royals, but today, she was following the rules. _Whatever_ , the blonde grumbled, looking away to take her mind off of the sudden chilliness in the room.

Across from her, she saw a couple of new faces among the Spiderbites—Slime’s parents. It was highly unusual for royal invitations to be extended to commoner guests, although Star soon understood the answer when she saw the closeness of Slime and Penelope. _Get a room you two_ , she rolled her eyes. The couple was likely nearing betrothal. Penelope was a couple of years older, so the upgrade made sense. _I wonder when Marco and I should get married_ , she glanced at her partner. The thought came across her mind every once and awhile. If the two of them could cleave dimensions together, then marriage was an easy commitment. Despite being the go-getter between them, Star wanted Marco to propose to her. She imagined him picking a romantic spot somewhere and slowly kneeling before her, asking Star to be his forever…

“Star? Uh… the meeting is about to start,” Marco’s whisper interrupted her daydream.

_Oh, right, dinner_ , she sat up straight. The guests had all settled in their seats as Eclipsa rose to her feet. “Good evening, rulers of Earth-ni,” she greeted. “And welcome to the first annual Leaders of Earth-ni dinner.” She waited for the applause to dissipate before continuing, “A lot has changed recently, and I hope that establishing this dinner will increase communication and cooperation between our kingdoms. There’s not an issue we can’t tackle together, so I open the floor to hear about the news affecting your kingdoms. Who would like to start first?”

“I would,” King Dave stood. “The Underworld has been faring okay since the Cleave, although it’s hard visiting other kingdoms. The humans screamed and called my wife ‘Satan.’ I don’t even know what that is, but I think it’s something bad. Also, we’re missing our son, Tom. We haven’t seen him in months. Is he okay? We’re so desperate to see our boy again…” The king and queen of the Underworld sobbed as they returned to their seats.

“Okay…” Eclipsa shifted nervously. “Who else wants to go next?”

“I will,” said Queen Kelpbottom. “Queen Eclipsa, you need to do something about pollution in the waterways! We’ve adapted to Mewni trash, but the humans have these rings that bind cans of soda together. They get stuck around our people’s neck and choke them! And don’t get me started about the chemicals…”

The other royals started to grow antsy, but Eclipsa raised her hand to quiet them. “I have an announcement before we continue,” she silently took the crown off her head, causing a collective gasp to escape from the royals. “I had to abdicate the throne to save the monsters from Mina, and I have no intention of taking it back up again. Instead, I wish to spend the rest of my days reconnecting with my family in peace. I hope you respect my wishes and may another, more worthy leader take my place.” She set the crown on the corner of the table next to Star and sat down.

All eyes suddenly fell on the blonde, and she couldn’t figure out why. A hushed silence fell on the royals until Dave cleared his throat to speak, “Okay...Queen Star, what now? What do we do about the Cleave?”

“ _Excuse me?!_ ” She nearly choked. Part of her wanted to open her mouth and tell the royals to talk to Moon, but the pleading quality to their gaze melted her heart. They needed a new order of leader, one who could understand their needs as well as the needs of the monsters and Mewmans. _But I’m just a teenager_ … she panicked at the weight of responsibility handed to her. _I can’t do this on my own_.

Marco placed a hand on hers and spoke, “I don’t know about the other issues, but I saw Tom about a week ago.”

Dave smiled, wiping away a tear, “Bless you, King Marco.”

“Uh…” the boy blushed and awkwardly tugged on his collar. “I wouldn’t go that far...Star and I are only dating.”

His words went right over their heads. “Queen Star and King Marco,” King Spiderbite addressed them. “We have to talk about how the humans and their tolling machines pose a risk to vulnerable spider habitat!”

“Or about airplanes flying into my kingdom!” King Pony Head interrupted.

“Excuse me, your Majesty, the monsters are _also_ polluting the water!”

“Yeah, and what about monsters!”

“WILL EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR TWO SECONDS?!” Star’s yell silenced the room. When they stopped, she continued. “Thank you. I’m flattered that you’ve turned to me and Marco, and yes, we will help the best we can, but we also need to find solutions that can affect all of these things. Like I’m sure an environmental initiative would save the water and the spiders.”

“But _my_ issues are more important!” King Kelpbottom objected.

“Oh, knock it off,” objected the Spiderbite queen. “Eclipsa and I formed a tighter alliance.”

“Here we go with that dumb alliance again…”

The arguing rose to a fever pitch as royals chose sides in the arguments and tried to insist that their issues were more pressing. Star watched the mini civil war erupt, feeling helpless. How could she lead them if they still acted like entitled babies? Earth-ni was about bringing worlds together, and the kingdoms also needed to cooperate too. The new queen was about to make her pronouncement when Moon beat her to it.

“Calm down, everyone!” She snapped. “I see what our real problem is...we need a leader. A _real_ one. Eclipsa may have allowed Star the crown, but my daughter is too young, irresponsible, and immature to lead an entire dimension. You’ll need someone like me. I have experience and kept Mewni peaceful during my reign.”

“That’s true,” the royals murmured to themselves.

Enraged, Star countered, “Yeah, and then you had the bright idea to betray the monsters, who are _your_ subjects too, just to get the throne back. Tell me that's not ‘irresponsible’ and ‘immature…’”

“And you’re the one who’s caused the most issues for the kingdom, Star,” Moon argued. “Remember Song Day? Remember the monster bash? Remember the Cleaving? You destroyed the magic…”

“What was I supposed to do? Let _your_ Solarian warriors kill the monsters and never see my boyfriend again?” Star started to sweat as her body grew hotter like a solar flare. How dare her mother put her ambition over her own daughter’s happiness.

Just before the battle could get any more heated, Eclipsa stepped in. “I have a suggestion,” she stood between the rival queens. “Why don’t we vote on who should be the new queen? Y’know, a little democracy.”

“We could,” Dave replied. “But why should we even consider Star? Moon’s right, leaving the world to a fifteen-year-old is a bad idea.”

“Or maybe it’s what we need,” Penelope spoke up. “Your generation had its chance and look at what you did. We need a queen for the future, and how can I forgive Moon for almost having Slime killed?”

“Yeah…” the younger princes and princesses agreed, however, the older royals remained firmly sided with Moon.

Eclipsa thought about it for a second and exchanged a glance with her husband. “I have an idea,” he said. “How about Star and Moon prove themselves worthy in a contest.”

“I suggest Game of Flags!” Uncle Grunt replied. “The game is simple: whoever puts their flag on top of the dangerous Hill of Flag first wins. It’ll be Moon and her husband versus Star and her husband!”

“Uh...Marco’s just my boyfriend, Uncle Grunt,” Star blushed.

He shrugged, “Same thing.”

Regardless, Star didn’t mind proving herself worthy of leading, especially since Moon’s attitude was so poor. Marco sighed, “Welp, guess I’m in too. Besides, when you do win, you’ll need someone to rule with you.”

“Thanks, Marco,” she took his hand and turned to the royals, “Marco and I accept this contest for the leadership of Earth-ni!”

“As do me and River,” Moon nodded.

* * *

After the deal was settled, the leaders of their kingdoms, along with Star, Marco, Moon and Eclipsa made their way to the Hill of Flags, that got preserved with the Cleaving. It was on the edge of downtown Echo Creek, camouflaged by the other mountain ranges. It was abandoned, as the Butterflies stopped playing flags after the last game that they played for about a year before because of how much of a disaster it was.

Star watched as the royals took their places, eyeing her as she grasped her boyfriend’s hand. She could feel her heart beating in her throat as the adrenaline coursed through her veins. After last playing Flags, she thought the whole concept was stupid, but if it meant proving her mother wrong, then she would do it and win no matter what.

“Star and Marco versus Moon and River,” Eclipsa’s rang in her ears, “This competition will be so exciting!”

Star’s eyes wandered to her mother, whose eyes she swore glimmered with envy, “I’ve played a lot of Game of Flags in my day, I can assure you that this will be fairly easy. I have to win for the fate of Earth-ni.”

_Fate of Earth-ni? Why did she want to win so badly?_ Star’s mind echoed. Her mom was so obsessed with shutting her down every time the possibility of her leading Earth-ni was brought up, and she couldn’t understand why. Star just wanted to bring peace in the midst of the tension, not to rule it to fuel her massive ego. She wasn’t sure if that was her mother’s true intentions, but that was the impression she was getting.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of her father jumping around in a bear suit around the former queen of Mewni. “You got this, Moon Pie!” He roared and put a hood over his head as he prepared for the competition to begin. Her dad may be wild at times, but he didn’t blatantly doubt her like her mother did, right?

Star rolled her eyes as her thoughts started to leak out into words. “What is her problem? Why does she want to rule Earth-ni so badly? I thought this ruling thing would be over, but I can’t leave the fate of Earth-ni to a lunatic like my mother!” She crossed her arms and groaned and was met with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Marco gave her a reassuring half smile, “Easy Star, we nearly won the game of flags before, this should be a piece of cake!” His eyes wandered to a bubbling pool of magma on the hill, and his look tightened. “...No matter how dangerous it is.”

“Flags is dumb,” the blonde replied, “but if it means saving Earth-ni from Mom’s outdated ways of running Mewni, then we have to win it.” She gripped the heart and moon emblazoned flag tighter in her grasp, her eyes flashing with determination. “We just gotta divide and conquer. We split up and make sure they can’t get a solid lead on us. They have my dad on their team, and we know how athletic that little man can be.”

The boy shuddered at the memory of their camping trip. “Oh definitely. Don’t worry, even without your magic I’m sure we can kick their butts!” He did some karate chops and kicks, animating his reassurance. “I mean, you climbed the whole hill the last time we played, so this should be nothing for you! You’re awesome at this sort of thing!”

She smiled softly, “Thanks, Marco. I’m still a bit nervous, I mean, these are my parents were playing against. Remember how angry my mom was to be catching us playing against her orders? Maybe she’ll royally destroy us just to spite us.”

Before Marco could offer more comforting words, they were interrupted by Eclipsa scooping them close to her in a warm embrace, which they happily returned.

“Good luck you two, I have faith in you! You two can win, you just have to. The Cleaving has had quite the effect on your mother’s psyche, if you know what I mean,” the former queen of darkness remarked.

Star rolled her eyes as she thought about her mother’s earlier comments, “Tell me about it. We need to win, after all, this whole Cleaving thing is Marco and I’s fault. The least we can do is make it right.”

Eclipsa’s eyes lit up, “That’s the spirit!” She then walked to her spot at the edge of the mountain, bringing her hands up as she raised her voice. “Alright, places everyone!”

The girl took her partner’s hand, and they walked to the starting line together as the royals looked on. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Wrathmelior smiling at her despite their tensions while she was still with Tom. Penelope and Slime also smiled at the two of them as they held each other closely.

Moon and River walked to their places beside the young couple, and Star felt her heart pump faster as she swore she saw Moon shoot an ice cold glare in her direction. It sorta hurt her, as her mother was so focused on winning to care about giving her daughter the benefit of the doubt.

“Okay, Marco, it’s go time,” Star softly whispered to her partner, “Remember what I said about dividing and conquering, we need to win this, understand?”

“We got this, we totally got this,” Marco replied firmly.

Their attention was averted when they saw Moon climb onto River’s back and the little man adjusting his bear suit. He looked over at the two of them. “Good luck to my daughter and son-in-law, but I must say that this is WARRRRR, and we will crush you both! Moon Pie and I will win this final Game of Flags for all of us, for Earth-ni!”

“In your dreams, old man,” Star shot back. Before the situation could get any more tense, Eclipsa called out from high above her tower.

“Are we ready to begin? The fate of the future leader of Earth-ni rests in the hands of these four people right here!”

Star turned her head to see Penelope shooting the two of them a double thumbs-up, Slime’s arm wrapped around her waist. She smiled back before gripping her flag tightly.

“The rules are simple,” Eclipsa began, “Whoever can put their flag at the top of the hill first, wins. Due to the previous events that happened with the last game of flags including several people nearly losing their lives, the rules have been changed to make it more of a fair game. No cheating, which basically means no setting traps for the opposing team to fall into. Now that we have established the rules, let's begin. On your mark… get set…”

The girl felt her blood boil as she saw her mother across from her, giving her a devious smirk. She had to win this, to prove her mother dead wrong. Of course, she knew in her heart that she was wrong, but she had to show the rest of Earth-ni as well.

“...GO!”

Star felt herself practically fly as she sprang into action, pumping her legs as fast as she could. She kicked up dust as she ran with Marco by her side, trying to gain a steady lead on her mother. Moon was riding her husband like a horse, which would probably give them an advantage later on.

“Okay Marco,” she began, “We need to keep our lead on my parents. Let’s split up to make sure my mom isn’t scheming behind our backs.”

Marco looked over at his girlfriend as he strained himself, raising an eyebrow. “You’d think she’d do that? She seems to be playing fairly so far…” he stopped himself mid-sentence as he looked over his shoulder to see his father-in-law galloping on all fours with his wife on his back. “...well, not so fairly, I guess?”

“It’s my mother for corn’s sake,” Star replied with a sneer, “Everything she does is malicious. I mean, she literally revived an army of ancient warriors just because of a misunderstanding. I know she said she’d change her ways, but after what she said at the meeting, I don’t think the cuckoo is completely out of her system.”

The boy softened his expression, “Yeah, that rubbed me the wrong way as well. Don’t worry though, Star, with a little determination, we can beat your folks cleanly.”

The teenagers approached the severe weather part of the map, and torrential downpours made it hard to see. Lightning flashed up ahead, giving it an ominous vibe. However, this did not stop Star. She was determined to win, and she pressed forward. She looked back to see her boyfriend rolling his eyes.

“Oh man. I don’t do wet socks!”

She grabbed him by the hoodie and pulled him into the rain. “Wet socks don’t care about your feelings, Diaz!”

Star and Marco made their way through the severe weather, not stopping as mud slicked their footwear and made it hard to trudge forward. The girl didn’t see any sight of her parents after the race first began, much to her relief, and she thought she should bask in this while she still could because her gut told her that they would catch up to their lead real soon.

After about a minute or so, they got through the rainstorm, and the sun beat down on them as their feet crunched against the snowy peak. Star could feel her stamina running out as they ran across a narrow path, complete with a 30-foot drop below. Her pace slowed as she tried to catch her breath, and Marco kept a steady jog in front of her.

All of a sudden, Star felt her legs give as she felt a force clamp down on her arm, throwing her overboard. She didn’t even scream as the utter shock overtook her, and before she knew it, she was holding onto dear life to the icy ledge, begging that she could keep her strength so she wouldn’t fall to her inevitable death.

The blonde looked up, the force on her hands growing tighter. She saw two greyish-blue eyes staring back at her, the lifeless expression on her face. She unmasked herself by taking her hood off of her head. Star couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and emotions churned within her. She didn’t know whether to feel sad, betrayed, or angry.

“...Mom?”

She didn’t answer. Time seemed to fly by at light speed.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Her voice quivered, “I think you’re getting way too into this…”

“Earth-ni needs a real leader, Star,” her mother replied.

“...Real leader? Wha?...”

“Yes. I’m sorry dear, but Earth-ni needs a real leader, and that leader is me.”

Before Star could even blink, the force on her hands loosened, and she felt her skin slipping against the icy rocks as it left her palms. She was falling, and her mother didn’t even help her up. She felt herself scream as there was nothing to catch her fall but the cold, snowy ground 30 feet below.

“STAR!” She faintly heard Marco’s voice and could see a silhouette of him up above.

Her body hit the snow again and again as she rolled down the mountainside until she stopped and face-planted into the snow. Everything went black as pain overtook her body. This was the worst pain she had felt in a long time, and not just physical pain either.

* * *

Warmth. Warmth flooded in and replaced the cold, and Star felt drawn to it. Her mouth turned up into a smile, and she slowly cracked open her eyelids. The sun seeped into her line of sight, and the image of the snow-capped mountain up above reminded her what happened who knows how long ago.

She looked down to see the person she loved the most hugging her tightly, his ear pressed against her chest. She recalled herself doing the same. Listening to his heartbeat soothed her nerves, and here was Marco doing the same. She gently hugged him back with one arm, stroking his coffee-brown hair.

Marco looked up at her, slightly releasing her from his grasp. His eyes lit up as he saw her coming too. “Oh my gosh, Star, I’m so glad you’re awake! I was just checking your vital signs. You aren’t injured, are you? I can’t believe that happened. I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you!”

“I’m fine, Marco,” she murmured. She spoke too soon as a pain shot through her right leg. She looked down to see her striped leggings torn, and a big gash painting her knee bright red. Scrapes covered her arms and possibly the rest of her. Star groaned as the dull pain surged through her nervous system.

“You are totally not fine,” Marco said as he helped the girl to her feet. She clung to him, careful not to lose her balance. “You’re hurt. We can’t complete the race while you’re in this condition. Besides, Moon and River are probably far ahead by now.”

Moon. Her mother. The person who literally pushed her off the cliff. It filled her with rage and the jolt that she felt made her push through the extreme pain. Her mother was out there, and possibly was going to finish the race and be crowned rightful leader of Earth-ni, and by corn, Star could not let that happen over her dead body. She was Star Butterfly, and Star Butterfly was going to kick her mother’s butt if it was the last thing she did. She couldn’t just lay down and die, she had to get back up and finish what she started.

“...No.”

“No?” Marco said in confusion. “But Star, you’re hurt. We can’t run like this.”

“Come on Marco, we need to keep going. For us, for Earth-ni.” 

“Star…” Marco looked at her in concern. “Are you sure…?”

“I’m positive,” Star replied. “Now, we have a game to finish.”

She reached in the snow and grabbed her flag, then started to run up the mountainside with more determination than she had previously.

* * *

After forcing herself back up the snowy cliff, Starco was back in the game. With a little perseverance, they could smell the finish line. It was only a little further ahead, and they were a lick away at passing Moon and River. Star could taste the sweetness of victory on the tip of her tongue.

Moon had stopped riding River like a trusty steed and was now running with her flag in toe, determined to beat her daughter. It was Star versus Moon now, and she could tell that her mother was confused as to how she recovered from such a severe fall.

20 feet… 15 feet… the finish line was getting closer and closer. Star just needed to push herself harder. She just had to win this competition. So many of Earth-ni’s citizens were counting on her and Marco, and she couldn’t let them down.

Then all of a sudden, Moon tripped.

Star stopped in her tracks as her mother fell into the mud puddle. She looked behind to see Marco and River fighting.

“Help me, Star!” Moon cried, reaching her hand out to her daughter.

_Excuse me, my own mother just pushed me off of a mountainside, and now she expects me to help her?_ Star felt insulted. “No way, you snake!”

“Please,” the former queen said.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, mother,” the blonde said as she reached down to grab the flag in the mud. “We have a race to finish.”

Star grabbed the flag and made a mad dash for the finish line, Marco coming up behind her with River a bit behind. He stopped to help Moon out of the mud, which gave Star and Marco a clean and easy victory. Cheers sounded as they crossed the finish line. “Go, team Starco!”

It felt great. Star smiled as she held her boyfriend’s hand, taking in the victory that they had achieved together, despite her mother doubting her and going as far as tossing her down a mountain.

“Give it up for team Starco!” Eclipsa cheered, coming up behind the two of them. The applause got louder as the women held Star and Marco’s hands up in the air. “I hereby announce them as the new official leaders of Earth-ni! They will guide us towards a more peaceful society in the midst of the Cleaving!”

The girl felt a smile appear on her face. Her and Marco could finally start attempting to fix all of the issues they have caused with their happy accident, and they would start by trying to bring peace to all of the former kingdoms and societies that inhabited this strange new world.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Moon standing beside her father with a sad expression on her face. It made her sick. After what she did, she had the audacity to feel sad? She felt no pity.

“I think these two show us the kind of leaders Earth-ni _really_ needs,” Eclipsa began again, “Courageous, determined, and full of integrity. Not someone who is willing to kill their own daughter for power...”

The cheers and claps started back up again, and the words that came from Eclipsa’s mouth gave Star a shock. She knew and possibly saw what happened.

“I knew you could do it,” Marco said, pulling the girl into a warm embrace, in which she happily returned. Star smiled and hugged him back, shutting her eyes and smiling softly.

The smile quickly left as she opened her eyes to see her mother slinking away from the scene.


	5. Spotlight & Beanie and Horns

**Spotlight**

The muted sound of snickering woke Marco early one morning, and he immediately feared that someone had broken into the castle. After becoming King of Earth-ni a mere week ago, it was natural to fear political enemies, even though the people seemed to love him. Usually, the only lurkers in the Monster Temple were young human and monsters fans who wanted an autograph or audience with the king and queen. Marco was amazed at some of the creative ideas they came up with, but Alfonzo and Ferguson’s dimension-wide rule D&D match was not feasible. At least not yet. Archibald was supposed to escort unwanted visitors out, telling them to reach out during office hours. The king preferred his privacy when he retired to bed unless something immediate threatened the kingdom. _If they’re fans, they’ll go away on their own_ , Marco let his eyelids droop and sleep reclaim him.

But the laughing refused to go away. Minutes later, Marco’s ears picked up the sound of equipment jostling outside his door. He imagined metal, plastic, and glass rattling as if someone was building something in haste. _I guess I’ll investigate_ , he reluctantly slipped out of bed and into a robe. On the way to the door, the boy also grabbed a broom, just in case. People didn’t normally bother others at six in the morning. The sun still hid below the horizon, shedding weak light over the dimension that barely lightened the sky enough to see. _It better not be ENN_ , Marco groaned at the idea of the press camping outside of his room again. Tabloids loved to sneakily take pictures of the ruler to stick in horribly-written, fabricated stories.

When Marco finally opened the door, he was greeted by blinding stage lights and camera lens peering coldly into his soul. _What is this?_ He shielded his bleary eyes and batted at the microphone shoved in his face. _Is StarFan13 being creepy again?_ Marco wondered, but when sight returned to his eyes, he noticed a blue floating horsehead instead, confirming his worst nightmare.

“Good morning King Earth-ni Turd!” Pony Head practically yelled. “And welcome to the Pony Head Show!”

At last, Marco encountered a fate worse than death. For some reason, Pony Head still stubbornly held onto her failing show even though Mewmans and monsters tended to watch cable like humans did. And who would blame them since the princess’ show was nothing more than an hour of extreme narcissism? Even Star, her best friend, didn’t watch it and hardly sounded concerned when Pony Head cried over her low viewer count. She mentioned something about finding a new gimmick to attract new viewers, and unfortunately for Marco, _he_ was that gimmick. _Oh great..._ the tired king yawned and scratched his back.

“C’mon, Turd, wave to your people,” Pony Head nudged him. “You’re on a new segment called ‘Get to Know Your Leader!’ I’m going to follow you around like _all_ day to capture the intimate moments of your life.”

“Oh no you aren’t,” Marco put his hands on his hips. “Also, who’s even watching this? Ten people?”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Earth Turd,” Pony Head cackled. “ _Er’body_ is watching because I got Seahorse to hack a bunch of servers and stuff. So whether you have a mirror or computer or one of those talking boxes, you have no choice but to watch this live stream!”

“But that’s _seriously_ illegal…”

Seahorse chuckled from behind the camera, “Oh, I know. I can go to jail if I get caught.” He sounded disturbingly nonchalant about confessing his crimes to the entire dimension.

It took Marco’s tired brain a moment to register what he just heard as part of him thought he was just having a bad dream. But when he fully realized what was going on, he frantically tried to shut the door while Pony Head attempted to break into his bedroom. He couldn’t let Earth-ni see him in his bathrobe and with disheveled bed hair! As king, Marco had an image to uphold! Yet that wasn’t the worst thing his dimension could see...he had a major secret to conceal from curious eyes. While he fought Pony Head for control of the door, the boy failed to hear a sleepy voice call his name. “Marco? What’s going on?”

“STAR?!” Marco and Pony Head exclaimed at the same time but for different reasons. Her voice caused the boy to lose his concentration, and the door slammed open, revealing a yawning Star sitting in his bed. The whole dimension was about to learn about what their royals _really_ did at night, and it wasn’t exactly _Parking Lot Tycoon_. Embarrassed, Star covered up her nightgown with the comforter, and her cheeks turned red like the Blood Moon.

Pony Head grew a creepy grin on her face, “Oh my corn, guys, Queen B-Fly is in Turd’s bed. _Oooh_ , scandalous...What were you two doing last night?”

“None of your business!” Marco gritted his teeth. “We were just playing video games.”

“But where’s your talking box? And are those love bites…?”

Star and Marco refused to look at each other, and the boy struggled to keep his hands off his neck. _My parents are watching this..._ he realized in horror.

“Pony, what did I tell about randomly filming people?” Star exclaimed. “It’s super rude!”

The princess snorted, “But the best way to get genuine reactions is to surprise people, so SURPRISE! Tell me, what’s your king like in—” Marco unplugged the microphone just inside.

“This show is over,” Marco hastily shoved Pony Head, her boyfriend, and the cameras out of the room. Maybe he could use the earlier confession as evidence to throw them in jail. Hijacking the airwaves had to count as domestic terrorism. If not, he was determined to get Pony Head on jaywalking and littering. He had seen her do both, and the Waterfolk kingdom had a massive campaign against throwing trash in the waterways. They punished wrongdoers with death in their kingdom, although Star and Marco negotiated them to lessen the punishment to a fine and community service. Beheading people for accidentally letting trash fall into a stream seemed a bit harsh. _We can make a special case for Pony Head though_ , Marco considered the idea.

Somehow, Pony Head wriggled out of his grip, “Geez, if you were just playing video games, then you wouldn’t be so defensive. Y’all gimme your reactions in the comments. Let me see those predictions about marriage and royal babies.”

“Get…out…” Marco finally wrestled her out of the room and shut the door. Fuming, he reached for his phone to text Archibald to fetch Higgs and the King’s Guard. They should have Pony Head out of the castle within thirty seconds.

Once silence returned, Marco sat on his bed and let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t get why you’re friends with her sometimes,” he shook his head.

“Yeah…me neither,” Star reluctantly agreed. “Pony Head can be a lot to handle sometimes.”

“Only _sometimes_?”

“Okay, _more_ than sometimes.”

Marco laughed and cupped her cheek, “Admit it, I’m your favorite best friend.”

“Maybe…” She said bashfully.

He moved closer, watching his girlfriend blush in the golden rays of the sun. She seemed to glow brighter than the morning, which caught Marco’s breath for a moment. “Star…” he sang her name. “C’mon…”

She grabbed a fist full of his shirt to bring him close enough to touch noses, “Maybe if you show me, I’ll consider.”

 _That’s a challenge I’ll accept_ , Marco placed a hand on her lap, moving his lips to hers. Suddenly, he caught sight of a blue shape hovering outside of his window, and he lurched backwards.

“Earth Turd and B-Fly are about to get heated in there!” Pony Head laughed through the window. “I’m going to give you the play-by-play of all the action.”

 _I’m gonna destroy her!_ Marco promptly got up and yanked the curtains closed. Now, he came to a dilemma. Pony Head knew they were in their room and was probably trying to figure out a way in past the guards. Therefore, if Marco and Star stayed in their room, they would be trapped, subject to the princess’s sordid gossip and rumors about them. _We have to sneak out_ , he concluded while tapping his chin. That was the only way to save their reputations. “Wanna sneak out with me?” He asked.

The suggestion made Star’s face light up, “How naughty, Mr. Diaz…”

“Not like that,” he blushed, “Although, I think we should go to our secret meadow…”

“Where no one can find us,” she finished his sentence. “I like your style. We’ll make an adventure of it. We might have to get creative about getting there.”

 _I wish we could use the scissors_ , Marco stared at the gleaming blades on his nightstand longingly. Star reached for her phone and set out a message, then said, “Help is on the way, so let’s get ready.”

* * *

The noonday sun hurt Marco’s eyes when a shadowy figure opened the trunk of the car. “Rise and shine, Diaz,” Janna blew a bubble with her gum, leaning against the rusty green bumper. “We’re at your final destination.”

“Hardy-har-har,” he glared and slowly crawled out of the tight space, groaning at the pain in his side. _What does she keep in here?_ Marco saw the books, shrunken skulls, and other weird objects that had been stuff in there with him. The better question was why did he let Star talk him into letting _Janna_ help them? Janna who never had good plans. Janna who never did good things to him. It was her suggestion that they crawl through miles of secret tunnels under the Monster Temple for hours until they reached her car parked by the base of the hill. It was her idea to have Star hide under blankets in the back seat while Marco rode in the trunk. During the long ride, he thrashed around, screaming in terror at his dark fate. Maybe it was better that he couldn’t see; her driving was atrocious.

Star hopped out, no worse for wear, “Thanks for the lift, Janna. Here’s your money.”

Her hand eagerly folded around the wad of bills Marco had given his girlfriend. They were so lucky that he still collected his six-hundred-and-fifty-dollar royalty check for the Princess Turdina dolls. “That’s why they call me ‘Odd-Jobs’ Janna,” the girl smirked as she counted the bills. “I’ll do anything for a price. Now, I gotta clean up job to do at the Diazes’ place. Have fun.”

The car squealed as the wheels struggled to grip the carpet of slippery pine needles and old leaves on the forest floor. Eventually, it freed itself, kicking up a cloud of debris before sliding down the slope. _That poor thing isn’t going to last a year_ , Marco flinched when the license plate fell off. _And when did Janna learn how to drive?_ The last he heard, the girl flunked out of driver’s ed and was deemed too unsafe to even get a learner’s permit. Then again, who was he to question the one-and-only Janna Ordonia? She had her ways and that was that.

When the car had left, the forest calmed again. Birds returned to their perches and started singing on the summer breeze, and small animals scurried in the undergrowth, hoping the cover would protect them. Marco inhaled deeply and spread open his arms to welcome the dappled sunlight from the canopy, which warmed his body. _Now, this is how I want to spend my day with Star_ , he unrolled a picnic blanket and lay down under the branches of a stout oak tree, inviting his girlfriend to join him. They cuddled together, listening to each other’s breathing and the sounds of nature. _Nothing can ruin this_ , he ran his fingers through her golden, sun-kissed hair. The light shimmering in her excited eyes stole the breath from his lungs, and Marco gave her a quick kiss. Faint hearts temporarily outlined her cheeks, reminding him about the mystery of the magic. It was gone, but not gone at the same time. The mystery perplexed him.

“Do I have something on my face?” Star tilted her head in curiosity.

“Do I have something on _my_ face?” Marco echoed when he caught the look of surprise on her face.

Star smiled and traced the shape of the moons on his cheeks, “I don’t understand why they show up when we kiss.”

“I mean, they don’t _only_ appear when we kiss,” he reminded her with a chuckle, blushing slightly.

“Are you tempting me?”

“Maybe…”

Star pressed her forehead against his, “Well, we are alone, Wild Man.”

 _Yeah_ , he grinned as she slowly unzipped his hoodie. Just as the blonde leaned in for a longer kiss, a blue creature jumped out a bush and scared the living daylights out of the teens. Star became so angry that Marco thought she was going to pluck Pony Head’s horn out of her head. In fact, he had to restrain her. If they were going to kill the princess, they’d have to wait until there weren’t any cameras watching.

“—And we’re back with the Pony Head Show!” Pony Head announced. “It looks like we came at a _great_ time. Am I right, B-Fly and Earth Turd? Y’all weren’t coming out here to watch birds…”

“No comment,” Marco gritted his teeth.

Seahorse handed Pony Head a tablet while still holding the camera, “We have viewer questions, my dear.”

“Ooh, thanks, boo,” she blew him a kiss. “Now, let’s see what you curious peeps wanna know about our leaders. I’mma start with one from StarcoFan13. She writes: ‘Hey, Star, am I still your favorite fan?’”

 _Not even subtle_ , Marco rolled his eyes. Part of him wanted someone to ask about his ideal leadership style, or how he and Star would tackle the complex issues of the cleaved dimensions. But he doubted that the kinds of people who watched the Pony Head Show were intelligent enough for those kinds of discussions.

“Uh…” Star tried to answer, but Pony Head scrolled down on her tablet.

“These are all, like, boring,” she complained. “Someone gimme something juicy...ah-ha! xxFireLord666 asked: ‘Star, why are you sleeping in Marco’s bed?’”

 _Why Tom_ … _?_ Marco slapped his hand to his forehead. Did he _seriously_ want an answer?

Gleefully, Pony read a few more responses, “Just in, NotMarcosMom asks ‘When will I get some grandbabies?’ Actually, these are like such good comments, oh, Monsterlover300 says ‘Don’t forget about safety.’”

“That’s it!” Marco had had enough of everyone getting into his personal business. Grabbing Star before she could say anything embarrassing, he whistled for Nachos to bail them out. The loyal dragoncycle swooped out of the sky and carried the couple away.

* * *

“I think we finally lost them,” Marco tumbled off of Nachos when she landed on the top of a desolate mountain on the far outskirts of town. The poor dragoncyle panted in the heat, letting her tired wings droop into the dusty ground. “It’s okay, boo-boo,” he hugged her. “You can rest now. You’ve been a good girl all day.”

They had been flying around Earth-ni for the better part of the day, trying to evade Pony Head and her infernal talk show. The chase took them all over the dimension: through the city, around the other kingdoms, down the freeway, and over the field of Mewni corn. On the plus side, it was nice for the fleeing leaders to have such a great tour of their land. Marco learned a lot about his new home. For example, he had no idea that most of Earth-ni was an uninhabited wilderness, combining the forests on Mewni with Californian scrubland. Outside of Echo Creek proper, and the kingdom, the world was empty and uncharted. Who knew what lay in the farthest regions of the world? _One day, I’m going to take Star on a great adventure to find out_ , he smiled. It was great to know that there was plenty of adventure and unsolved mysteries left.

Star joined him on the ground, “Pony Head can’t find us here, I don’t think. She can’t read maps.”

“Can she read at all?” Marco replied sarcastically.

“I have no idea.”

The sun set behind them, and Star and Marco sat high above the edge of the known world. He gave her a quick kiss, smiling at the beautiful hearts that flashed on her cheek. “Hey, Star,” he took her hand, “I think we should look into this.”

“Into what?” She questioned. “Oh, you mean the cheekmarks.”

“Yeah...I have a weird feeling that they’re important somehow.”

“But they aren’t as important as the Pony Head Show!” Like a bad rash, Pony Head somehow managed to appear in their lives again.

Angry, Star stomped over and tossed her friend’s tablet over the side of the mountain, where it tumbled towards an abandoned green car. Satisfied, she turned her wrath on Pony Head, “What do you want from us? I just want to spend the day with my boyfriend and not have everyone in our business! Is that _so_ hard?!”

Pony Head tried to put on a sad face, “I just wanted to cover the new leaders of Earth-ni so everyone could get to know you. Like you didn’t have to be so mean…”

Pity softened both Star and Marco’s hearts, and the boy sighed, “We didn’t mean it like that. It’s just you have been kinda intrusive. If you want us to speak on your show at any time, you could always ask.” Honestly, he wanted his subjects to get to know their new leaders, but in a more organized fashion.

The princess stopped sulking, “I didn’t mean to be a pest. I just want to help you guys. But I promise to ask next time.”

“That’s all we wanted,” Marco nodded.

“Hey, guys… I have one tiny question. Do you wanna answer a question in front of our live studio audience?” Suddenly, bright spotlights from helicopters landed on Star and Marco, and a large group of their supporters appeared on the hill, cheering and chanting their names. _I take back my apology,_ the boy shielded his eyes from the glare. There was no way out of this situation. He had to give in, or else Pony Head would hound him until the ends of the dimension.

Reluctantly, he grabbed the microphone, “Okay, what do you want to know?”

“We wanna know why Star was in your room earlier!” StarFan13 shouted, and the crowd agreed with whistles and thunderous applause.

 _Welp, here goes nothing_ , he sighed, “You wanna know what Star and I do at night? Well, here it is. We—”

* * *

**Beanie and Horns**

“Heard you got a demon problem,” Janna smirked on the porch of the Diazes house. The door opened slightly, revealing three sets of concerned eyes in the crevice.

“We heard you clean up supernatural things,” Mr. Diaz said through chattering teeth. “Can you help us? We have a serious problem.”

There was nothing “Odd-Jobs” Janna couldn’t handle, especially when it came the creepy and the supernatural. That was her specialty. Ever since the Cleaving, the girl spent her days riding around the dimension in the old car she salvaged from the junkyard looking for work. The best way to make money off of people is to take advantage of their unique needs, and the Cleaving created many. Fences and telephone poles were littered with fliers requesting the services of someone who could help their problems, and Janna conducted her job with no questions asked. If there were buckets of ectoplasmic goop that needed a proper burning, she did it. If there were animal parts to smuggle, she moved them to the right customer. If a monster needed to hide evidence that he ate a dog, Janna brought a couple of shovels. But her favorite tasks involved demon exorcisms—they formed a special place in her heart. When the Diazes called her about a demonic presence in their backyard, the girl piled her dusty books in the trunk along with candles, and a vile of holy water she stole from a church. Again, no questions asked.

Janna nodded with a smug grin on her face, “I’m sixteen; I can handle a demon. Now show me where this bad boy is, and I’ll have him disposed of before you spell H-E-L-L.”

“H-E-L- oh…” Mrs. Diaz covered her mouth. “Nevermind, he’s out back. Be careful, he’s been here for months, just in the same spot.”

The girl nodded, “Gotcha, lemme get my supplies.”

She lifted the trunk of her car—careful to mind the rusty hinges—and brought out the books, holy water, and candles. Shuffling them under her arms, she entered the backyard, ready to face the foe haunting the quaint suburban home. At first, she saw nothing unusual: a few cacti, some rocks, a patch of grass withered by the hot sun, and a tool shed. There was also a headless dog statue, which Janna paused to take a picture of before returning to her case. Even without the usual signs of demonic activity, the girl wasn’t fooled. Upper-level demons tended to be sneakier, concealing their evil under a cloak of normalcy. The best way to find them was to smell them out. Using her nose, she caught faint whiffs of burnt-toast traveling on the wind from behind the shed. _Easy_ , she stalked to the outbuilding and carefully anointed the ground in a protective barrier of sugar and holy water. A couple of lit candles completed the ward. With the beast contained, Janna grabbed her favorite weapon—a shovel she called Grave Digger. Sometimes demons needed a bit of persuading in order to leave.

“I know you’re there! Show yourself, demon!” She shouted. “Come easy, or I’ll get you out the hard way.”

“ **Go away…** ” A deep voice growled, sounding like thunder. “ **I require solitude.** ”

Judging by the growl, Janna could tell she was dealing with a prince or another higher-up from the Underworld. Getting rid of his wouldn’t be an easy feat, but it could be done. She tightened her grip on the shovel, “I’m afraid I have to send you back from whence you came.”

“ **Wait? You can send me back to the Underworld?** ” The demon hissed.

Janna rocked back on her heels, “Well, that’s why I’m here, demon.”

“ **I know your voice…,** ” Fire spread from behind the shed as a purple creature emerged from the shadows, crawling on all fours like a feral cat. Three blood-red eyes glowed in a sinister triangle above a row of fangs that descended from a frowning mouth in a jagged row. Sweeping horns erupted from a mess of wild pink hair that stood up as the demon continued forward. _This is the ugliest demon I’ve ever seen_ , the girl raised Grave Digger for a strike until she realized that it was Tom. The pink hair gave him away.

“Tom?” Janna bit her lip to keep from laughing. “What happened to you?”

“ **What do you mean?** ” He lashed his tail, arching his back. “ **Do you think I’m ugly too…?** ”

“Oh absolutely,” Janna laughed. “But I still like your eyes.”

The demon curled his tail over his long claws, “ **That’s good. Star and Marco visited me the other day and screamed. Can you help me out of this form? I miss my pretty face.** ”

 _I do too_ , Janna rested Grave Digger on the ground. Luckily, the demon expert knew all about the Berserker form. When extremely upset or scared, demons turned ugly in response. It was a baffling adaptation, and the books never gave an explanation as to why aside from theories about demon hormone regulation. There was only one way to change them back, and Janna had to execute the ritual correctly or else the world would explode. She stepped over the containment line and started to stroke the feral demon behind the ear. “Who’s a handsome boy?” She cooed, watching the demon tense and shake.

Tom purred loudly and rubbed his body against her legs contently. Demons had fragile egos, so to fix them, they must be praised and coddled. Gradually, Tom reverted to his normal teenaged-boy self, and he rolled away from Janna. “Thanks,” he muttered in embarrassment.

“I’m the best at my job,” she bragged. “Now, can you please tell me why you’re in the Diazes’ yard?”

He sighed, sitting on the ground, “Oh, Janna, I’m glad Star and Marco found a way to be together, but I’m stuck on Earth-ni and can’t get home. I’ve been trying for months to dig a way into the Underworld, but I’ve made very little progress.” He pointed to a small hole that was only a foot wide and a foot deep. Broken plastic spoons lay scattered around the hole, the casualties of a futile project started by a desperate, sad creature. _This is honestly the saddest thing I’ve ever seen_ , Janna snickered. 

“Wow…” the amusement carried into her speaking voice. “First, you could have borrowed Grave Digger. A shovel would have made this easier. _Way_ easier. And I have a jackhammer too—Jack the Ripper.”

“You mean...I’ve been wasting months of my life when there was a better way!” Angst made Tom explode into his Berserker form again, and the girl rolled her eyes. Teenage male demons were seriously the worst when it came to drama. Old demons were physically more powerful, but they were less whiny and explosive. To deal with them, Janna dispatched them with Grave Digger and cast them back into the inferno. Tom required counseling, which was out of her expertise.

Calmly, she sat on the ground and petted the fiery demon again, “Can you chill out? I’m here to help.”

“ **Sorry…** ” Tom snarled and returned to normal. “Having a rough time.”

“I can tell,” Janna smirked. “How long have you been out here?”

“Ever since the Cleaving,” he replied. “It wasn’t too bad at first. The Diazes gave me food, but one day, I scared the neighbors and set the fence on fire in rage. I think that’s why they called you.”

“Yeah, this is suburbia, you can’t burn down people’s property. Don’t worry, I can get you to the Underworld.”

Tom perked up, “You can?!”

“Of course,” Janna helped him to his feet. “But we’re doing it my way, so you gotta tag along on a few calls.”

The demon wrapped his arms around her in a tight, warm hug and purred, “You’re such an amazing girl, Janna.”

“Yeah…” she secretly blushed. “Now, let’s get going.”

“I can’t,” Tom sighed. “You’re containment line prevents me from leaving.”

“Gimme five minutes to clean it up,” she reached for Grave Digger.

* * *

A few hours later, Janna tossed a wad of soiled rags on Tom’s lap in the passenger seat of the car. “Another satisfied customer,” she cleaned off her hands. “You missed out, Tom. This spirit was a big one and very angry. You can always join me on a call.”

“Hard pass,” the demon mumbled, tossing the rags to the back.

Janna wordlessly climbed in the driver’s seat and started the engine. The AC rattled when it cut on, but the cold air was a sweet relief after hours of convincing an attic ghost to leave. She really liked living in the Morrisons’ house, but the human hosts were not as appreciative of her presence to say the least. Eventually, casual persuasion wouldn’t cut it, and Janna had to resort to other methods. Hopefully, the ghost would find a better place to haunt in the Underworld. _I would have offered her a place at my house if my attic wasn’t already full of spirits_ , Janna needed to thin some of them out just in case she found a worthier prize.

“Now,” she let the car idle for a minute. “My schedule is free, so we can start looking for a way to the Underworld.”

“We can?” Joy filled Tom’s eyes.

“Buckle up, buttercup, it’s gonna be a long, fantastic journey,” she cut the car on and floored it, zooming down the quiet suburban streets at sixty miles an hour. Dog walkers dragged their pets out of the way and parents snatched their children to the side when the old car started to ride partially on the sidewalk. All the while, Janna laughed, especially when she ran the redlight at the end of the street, causing other cars to swerve out of the way. Tom’s eyes grew wide, and he clutched the edge of the seat for dear life.

“When did you get your license?” he asked in a small voice.

“Bold of you to assume I _have_ one,” Janna winked.

Suddenly, a dragoncycle streaked across the road passed them with Pony Head and Seahorse in hot pursuit. Marco steered sharply, cutting off Janna on the road. _You leave me no choice,_ she pulled into the opposite lane to pass him, forcing an oncoming truck to run onto the sidewalk. “Kiss my tail, Diaz!” she honked her horn at the mortified boy.

“Save me, Marco!” Tom knocked on the windows, crying to his bro as they passed, but his friend had his own troubles to deal with to save him.

“Ah c’mon, live a little,” she laughed. “This is life in the fast lane.”

* * *

When they arrived at the outskirts of town, the car gave up the ghost in the middle of the road. Janna tapped on the gas gauge, hoping that there was a drop left in the tank, but the needle stubbornly hovered over the E, refusing to budge. “Welp,” she shrugged, “Looks like we’re hoofing it from here on. Rust Bucket is outta juice.”

She unlocked the doors, and Tom tumbled out, kissing the ground. “Holy inferno, we’re alive!” He whispered in gratitude with his lips pressed to the asphalt. The sight made the girl roll her eyes, _It’s not my fault that you need a high IQ to understand my driving_. Popping open the trunk, she grabbed her most important book and a few provisions, leaving everything else behind. Once they got in cellphone range, she’d send a text to Oskar to tow her car to the gas station and fill her up. One of the perks to driving a trashed car was that very few people were tempted to steal it, and even if they did, she would salvage another one.

“Come on, drama prince,” she grabbed the demon by the wrist. “We gotta find the entrance to the Underworld. Now, while I haven’t been there myself—I just send things there—” She brought out a map of the outer mountains around Earth-ni. “But I heard rumors that the entrance is hidden in these hills.”

Around Earth-ni, the Californian sagebrush hills stretched into the Forest of Certain Death and higher snow-capped peaks above them. No one had ever left the main kingdoms to explore the region, so anything Janna knew about it came from hearsay. Oskar reportedly heard from this guy who knew this guy who saw a lizard man roaming the wilderness, but it was likely just a rumor. The boy was known for hanging out with druggies, and everyone knew druggies made up stories. _Hmm_ , she scanned the paper for clues to shorten their quest—unless Tom wanted to go on an epic adventure. For some reason, the idea sounded tempting…

“Find any leads yet?”

“Getting there,” she replied. “How about that mountain?”

“Are you asking, or do you know for sure?” Tom followed her gaze to one of the taller sagebrush peaks.

“Yes.”

He muttered something under his breath but followed behind her as she approached the swell of the first hill. _Good thing I wear combat boots_ , Janna flexed her toes in them proudly. Normally, they functioned to protect her feet from poisonous goop and demon fire, but they were comfy and durable enough for a serious hike. Under the blaring sun, they forged a thin trail up the side of the exposed hill. Buzzards circled overhead at the heat of the day, attracted to Tom’s sluggishness as he lagged behind. “He’s not dead yet!” She tossed a rock in their direction.

After a few straight hours of climbing, they reached the top and saw the arc of the sun trace a westward path over Earth-ni. _Nice_ , Janna could see all of Echo Creek—her creepy playground—nestled in the middle of the vast dimension like a toy model. “Hey, Tom,” she called to him. “Hurry up and see this.”

Huffing, the demon collapsed at the summit, “Did we find the Underworld?”

“Nope, but look,” she helped him to his feet. “I think the view is worth it.”

Tom’s eyes grew wide, taking in the sights of Earth-ni, “I must admit, I like the view. It’s our...home…” Tears started to pour from his eyes, smearing his mascara into black blobs on his cheek. “I’m never going to see my parents again...am I? I want to enjoy this new world but...I’ve lost everything dear to me. Well, except for you. You’re a great friend, Janna. I really appreciated our adventure.”

His words made her feel a tad guilty, and Janna placed a hand on his shoulder, “Actually...I have someone to take you. For real this time.”

They hitchhiked a ride from Oskar, who had arrived to tow Janna’s car, and he dropped them off at her house. Confused, Tom stared wordlessly as the girl dragged him passed her oblivious parents and to the basement door. “I don’t usually bring people down here,” she began, fiddling with the locks, “But...I owe you.”

When it swung open, the entire world spread hundreds of feet below them, giving Tom a complete overview of his home. Volcanos belched smoke and molten rock in their faces, rivers of lava generated red heat that lit up the darkness, and in the middle, the Lucitor castle points its jagged towers to the sky that should have been Janna’s floor. “My home!” Tom squealed. “I can’t believe the way to the Underworld is in your basement!”

“I can…” she rubbed her arm. “I knew the entire time, but I just really wanted to hang out with you and didn’t know how to ask you…”

Believe it or not, “Odd Jobs” Janna had a human heart down under layers of dry humor and creepiness. She had no idea how to talk to guys or anyone who wasn’t Star and Marco. It was hard being on patrol without a partner to talk to and hunt ghosts and demons with. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted with Tom yet, but she always felt herself drawn to creepy guys. Surprisingly, the demon took her hand. “I meant what I said about appreciating the adventure. And yeah, you should’ve told me sooner, but if you ever wanna hang out or need another demon expert on your team, just call me. I mean, we kinda live together now.”

They both blushed slightly at the realization, and Janna quickly cleared her throat to return the color to her face. “I’ll take you up on that, partner,” she nodded.

“Tom! You’re safe!” They turned to see Dave and Wrathmelior squeezing into the basement from the house. The demon giantess wailed loudly, while the king rushed to his son. “We’ve been looking all over for you ever since we found a way out of the Underworld. The Ordonias are nice people.” Suddenly, a knowing smile spread on both faces of the king and queen, “Oh, no wonder you didn’t come home. You were busy with your new girlfriend.”

 _Girlfriend?!_ Both Janna and Tom looked at each other, still holding hands.


	6. Red Nightmare & Play Date

**Red Nightmare**

“...Star?”

 _Where am I?_ His voice echoed off the walls in the empty space until it dispersed into thin air. There was no answer. Marco’s feet didn’t touch the ground as he floated around haphazardly in the void, alone.

 _What’s going on?_ His mind boomed loudly as the empty space started to fill with a red hue that offered some sort of backlight to his surroundings. His eyes grew wide as the shot open, but nothing was in view, not even the impending horizon. That could wait for later. There was only one thing on his mind at the moment.

“Star? Where are you?”

Wearily, the boy put his sneakers on the ground, which rippled and expanded into the liquid surface as if it were made of red-tinted water His other foot followed suit, making a sloshing sound as he walked, step-by-step. His glance kept switching left and right, scavenging for any sight of the blonde-haired girl.

The breeze picked up, blowing in his face. It was chilly, which caused Marco to shove his hands in his pockets in visible discomfort. A gentle sigh grazed his lips as he let the strands of his hair tickle his forehead. That was until he saw a yellow speck in the distance.

“Star! Is that you?”

His walking turned into running as the sight of her hair grew closer. His hand reached out in front of him to touch the fabric on her shoulder, which caused her to jump in surprise and shoot around to Marco’s relieved eyes. Her eyes glistened as a grin started to appear on her face, in which the terrified boy sighed happily as he pulled her into his arms for a warm, loving embrace.

Literally warm. He felt his stomach grow warmer… and wetter. Star let out a whimper of obvious discomfort which greatly confused him. Startled, he pulled her off of him quickly in concern.

Star’s eyes were staring right back at him in horror as she began to cough and sputter. Upon closer inspection, what he saw utterly traumatized him. A knife was lodged deep into her chest where her heart once was, red liquid trickling out of the wound and onto his grey shirt and the redness below. There was something off, however: this so-called “blood” sparkled, speckles of shine covering the meniscus.

Marco felt something in his hand, the knife that was lodged in Star’s chest was now in his hand, which was strange, as he didn’t remember scrambling to pull it out. He was horrified as she looked at him sadly. _Is this my fault?_ His mind didn’t want to believe it.

“Why?” she crooned, “I thought you loved me…”

Star shut her eyes as she fell forward into the boy’s trembling arms, sobs wracking his body. “I do! Please, I-I didn’t mean for this to happen....”

Her lifeless figure slipped through the gaps in his hands as it morphed into red fine ash and floated up towards a red moon in the sky above, one that was very familiar to the both of them. _The Blood Moon? I thought magic was destroyed… please don’t tell me this stupid moon will take her away from me!_

Hysterical and frantic, Marco sprang to his feet and chased after the trail of red dust that was rapidly wafting away into the sky. “Wait, please come back! Don’t leave me…”

Marco fell to his knees, doubling over into a ball. Star was gone. It all happened so fast, seemingly in a matter of seconds. He felt so hopeless and lost. He failed to keep the one thing in life that made him truly happy, and he eliminated her in the most horrifying way possible. “This is all my fault. I-I got her killed… she’s gone because of me.”

Tears dripped into the red water, and sobs escaped his lips. He was all alone. The room dimmed.

Laughter… Laughter echoed in the near distance, followed by a shadow that loomed near. Marco opened his eyes as a tall dark figure loomed over him. Its tail swished in the silhouette as it grew taller and taller. He was too terrified to move, too distraught over…

* * *

“Marco?... Marco? MARCO!”

His eyes shot open followed by screams. Marco was dripping in cold sweat as light filled his vision, a sharp contrast from the darkness that he lived before. His cheeks felt searing hot as his wild eyes darted back and forth from his Mackie hand posters, the brown little puppy barking next to the door, and _her_ eyeing him with the utmost concern in her deep blue eyes. He felt her hand cup his cheek tenderly.

“Shhh, it’s just me, boo. Are you okay? I heard you screaming in your sleep, so I came to check on you.”

His heart rate slowed as the feeling of relief washed over him. _It’s just a dream._ Marco half smiled as her hand stroked the searing spot on his right cheek. It was soothing, especially after all the anxiety his recent nightmare caused. “I feel a lot better now that you’re here, Star…”

The comment caused a warm smile from Star. She looked at him in concern once more as her hand grazed his cheek again. “Your cheekmark thingies were glowing red hot. That can’t be a good sign, especially if it happened while you were having some sort of vivid nightmare. Do you… know what happened?”

“I…well,” Marco stammered. “You see…”

Every time he tried to speak, the words caught in his throat as if he was afraid that uttering them would usher in the dark prophecy of the dream. Just recalling it was unbearable, and he desperately wanted his mind to blot out the memory, even if Star wanted to know. But he couldn’t. He still felt her blood pool hotly against his chest, soaking through his nightshirt and sticking to his skin. He still felt the coldness of the murderous knife in his shaking hands, glinting with the light of the Blood Moon. Her words still haunted his ears. _No, I refuse to let this happen!_ He defiantly glanced up at the sky, which was still dark in the pre-dawn. No one would take his Star away again.

“Eyes on me, bub,” Star placed a hand on his, her touch cooling the fever burning his body. At last, he calmed down enough for his cheek marks to fade, returning the room to darkness. For now, all was well. She was safe, albeit concerned over his outburst.

He sighed, “It’s hard to explain. We were in the Realm of Magic, although it was different, I guess. And... something happened, and you died in my arms. _I—_ ” He paused, unable to say the word _stab_ or _kill._ “—I was responsible.”

“Oh,” Star said simply, nervously playing with her frizzled hair.

 _What kind of boyfriend dreams of murdering his girlfriend?_ He anxiously studied her reaction. What if she called the police or his parents? Would she run away or hate him? Honestly, maybe she _should_. “Look, Star, I love you, and I don’t know why I had this dream. I would never—”

His ramblings were cut short by her lips pressing against his. As he melted into her arms. He almost forgot his name and how to breathe, but Marco didn’t care. “Easy, boy,” Star murmured when he got too into it. “We need to sort out this dream business first.”

“Right,” he blushed, pulling away.

Star smoothed down her hair and leaned back against the headrest while she thought deeply about the matter, hopefully remembering that Marco usually wasn’t crazy or emotionally disturbed. _Or she’s thinking of a way to find a safe place and have me arrested_ , Marco thought that half-jokingly now. After a moment, she spoke, “I think you’re having another stress dream, like those stuck-in-life ones you used to have. And yeah, the dream sounded creepy, but I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Wouldn’t worry about it?” he echoed. “Star, that’s ridiculous. I can’t do that if it means your life is at risk.”

“Is it at risk? Earth-ni’s kinda tame without magic.”

“That’s the thing,” Marco’s voice grew louder. “I don’t think magic is gone. I saw the Blood Moon and the Realm of Magic. It _has_ to mean something...just like our cheekmarks.” _I think they’re all related_ , he didn’t know how he knew, but something in his soul prickled at the thought of the three elements together.

“It’s a dream, Marco.”

“No, it’s not. It’s an omen or something that we need to look into.”

“Marco…”

“When will you take things seriously for once? You’re not an invincible, magical princess anymore!”

Marco regretted snapping at her instantly. He didn’t mean it. Fighting the girl he loved hurt him almost as much as the dream, especially when he had to gaze into her pained eyes. _I’ve hurt her_ , he recoiled, feeling awful. Maybe he was capable of doing bad things to her despite how much he worshipped her presence. Maybe he was a bad boyfriend…. “Star, I—” He tried to reach for her, but she pulled away. The pain in her eyes blazed into anger. “Star,” Marco tried to talk to her. “I didn’t mean to. I just love you so much, and I couldn’t live with myself if something took you away from me.”

Despite his pleas, Star said nothing, wordlessly reaching for her robe as she stormed out of their room and into the Monster Temple.

* * *

**Play Date**

“I’ll get it!”

A blonde mass of hair raced down the stairs and made a mad dash to the door. Star Butterfly was at the Diazes’ today with Marco, as they were commissioned to watch eight month-year-old Mariposa while Mr. and Mrs. Diaz had a date night on the town in downtown Earth-ni. Tensions were rising between monsters, Mewmans, and humans, and the White Lotus was fresh out of food since Star and Marco went, but they figured they wouldn’t tell them and let them find out for themselves.

Star reached for the door handle and the door creaked open, revealing Eclipsa standing at the door with her half-monster child. The girl’s face grew wide with a bright smile. “Eclipsa!” Meteora babbled as she jumped out of her mother’s arms and crawled up the blonde’s leg and into her arms.

“Good morning, Star,” Eclipsa said cheerily, “I am here to drop off Meteora. I was wondering if you could watch her while Globgor and I have a day to ourselves. We haven’t had one of those for who knows how long.”

“Of course, Eclipsa,” Star nodded in delight, Meteora reaching up to play with her bangs, “I am so happy for you and Globgor! You both deserve a day to yourselves.”

“Thanks, dearie,” the woman replied. She raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Marco? This is his house, after all.”

Star felt her face tense up. After the night before, she and her boyfriend were not on the best of terms. Despite this, she agreed to come over to help with Mariposa. She figured that the little tot shouldn’t have to suffer because of Marco’s foolish comments and delusions. Also, Mrs. and Mr. Diaz were like second parents to her.

“Oh yeah, him… He’s probably upstairs with Mariposa or something.” Meteora growled at the mention of Marco’s name. Eclipsa’s facial expression softened as Star walked towards the stairs to see where Marco was hiding off to. They walked up to the nursery. “Marco, Eclipsa is here to drop off Meteora,” Star repeated with the slightest bit of spite in her voice.

“Oh, great,” Marco groaned. Star walked closer and set the monster child next to her boyfriend. Meteora huffed and crossed her arms at the sight of the boy.

“Thanks for helping me with Meteora,” the blonde said sarcastically, “Oh wait, you didn’t help.”

“I couldn’t leave Mariposa alone,” Marco retorted frantically, gesturing to Mariposa crawling over to Meteora, “Last time we did that, she went dimension-hopping!”

Star groaned. _There he goes being overly cautious again_. “Magic is gone, Marco. You can’t travel across different dimensions anymore.”

“That’s not the point, Star,” the boy said with frustration, “She could have been kidnapped, stuck someplace, or worse! She was almost eaten by a guy with a stomach for a mouth for heaven’s sake!”

“It wouldn’t kill you to stop what you’re doing for ten seconds to—” She and the boy stopped bickering to draw their attention to Eclipsa clearing her throat loudly. They blinked as the woman looked back and forth between them. Meteora and Mariposa stepped playing with the blocks on the ground to look at the teens as well.

“Well, I think I best be going now,” Eclipsa said with a nervous laugh, “Globby is waiting for me.”

“Don’t worry Eclipsa, I’ll walk you out.” She shot a glare in Marco’s direction _. Two can play this game,_ she thought to herself. His comments last night angered her. It was just a silly dream. Dreams aren’t real unless you turn into a huge butterfly in your sleep and a magical unicorn calls you to the realm of magic, which in part didn’t exist anymore. Magic was dead, and dreams are normal dreams. There was nothing to worry about, so why was Marco worrying?

“Uh, Star? Aren’t you supposed to be helping me babysit?” Meteora babbled and pulled at Marco’s ear, causing him to yelp in pain.

“I have more important things to do, like I dunno, watching TV.”

“But-”

“Well, I’m sorry, but I thought I wasn’t an invincible, magical princess anymore?”

“I-”

“So, I’ll be leaving now.” With a swift movement, Star turned around and walked out the room, Eclipsa following close behind leaving Marco with two curious toddlers to look after.

* * *

Star could feel her face grow hot with anger as she stomped down the stairs and sat on the sofa. She didn’t want anything to do with Marco right now. She couldn’t put her finger on why his comment the night before angered her so much; she didn’t want anything to do with Butterflies or magic anymore. However, the more she pondered, the more she started to realize why it angered her so much. Maybe it was the fact that the Blood Moon was a bunch of baloney and didn’t have anything to do with her and Marco loving each other. Or maybe it was the fact that there were moons on his cheeks as she watched him squirm helplessly in bed, or maybe the two of these things combined concluded then possibility that maybe, just maybe, magic was still out there… and maybe it wanted her dead for even attempting to destroy it. Whatever it was it made the blonde angry at her big doofus boyfriend… and the tiniest sliver of fear pricked her nerves.

The girl looked up from Y.O.U.T.H.S. playing on the TV to see Eclipsa looking at her with a worried expression. “Star, dear? May I have a word with you?”

“Uh, sure.” She tried her best to appear as neutral as possible as the woman made herself comfortable on the sofa next to her. She didn’t feel like talking about or explaining what was going on between her and her boyfriend. It was too weird, too infuriating, too…

“What has been going on between Marco and yourself?”

 _Oh, corn… there it was_. She twiddled her thumbs nervously. “It’s nothing.”

“It surely is not just nothing. I have spent enough time around you and Marco that the two of you do not start acting distant towards each other over ‘nothing’. Did you two have your first couple’s fight?” Eclipsa sounded sympathetic.

Star gave up. Eclipsa was onto her about something, and she looked to her as a motherly figure. She might as well stop trying to convince her there was nothing wrong and just spill the beans. “Sorta. We got into a little argument after Marco freaked out over a dream he had last night. I told him there was nothing to worry about because it was just a dream, and dreams are not real because magic is gone, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“You are half right about that,” the older lady replied firmly, causing Star to raise an eyebrow.

“Half? Wait a second, are you implying dreams are real?” Star felt her heartbeat loudly in her ears.

“Oh no, they most certainly are not real, but they are not all fiction either. Sometimes dreams can foretell the future in very cryptic ways.”

That soothed her nerves a bit. She thought about the past as she leaned back into the sofa. “Ah, gotcha. So, a typical lesson from Glossaryck.”

“Precisely,” Eclipsa replied curtly, “Cryptic dreams are rarely straightforward as they typically show you one thing when they mean something else. Sometimes they can even serve as a warning or omen.”

 _‘...And something happened, and you died in my arms’_ , she heard Marco’s voice say loudly in her head, and she winced. “Warning?”

“Tell me, dear, what was the dream that Marco had?”

“W-well,” she stammered, “There was me, him, a lot of blood, the Blood Moon, and—”

Eclipsa’s eyes grew wide as she cut off Star’s explanation. “The Blood Moon? Now, that’s something I have not heard in over three hundred years. My father used to be obsessed with the Blood Moon ever since my sweet Globby mentioned the demon ritual back when we first began dating.”

“Your father knew about you and Globgor,” Star asked, perplexed, “I thought your mother hated monsters and wanted them to suffer?”

The woman chuckled slightly. “Oh heavens, my mother and father were two completely different people. While my mother was greatly against monsters, my father was not. In fact, he was very supportive of our relationship. He wanted us to get bonded by the Blood Moon for some prophecy. The only thing stopping this was the fact that the Blood Moon Ball wasn’t for another three hundred or so years.”

The blonde tried to mentally piece together Eclipsa’s strange talk. The more she spoke about the blood moon, the more confused she became. “Prophecy?”

“My father heard rumors of some old prophecy room. It had a sun and a star on the floor, but we could never locate where the room was. I assume it was an old wise tale.”

Sun and a star? Her mind rewound back to the past. She could have sworn she had seen this room before. A lightbulb went off in her head. “Saint Olga’s!”

“Saint Olga’s,” Eclipsa echoed, “It could not have been there.”

“I know because I was there!” Star exclaimed, “Marco and I ran through it while running from Mrs. Heinous… who is also your daughter… it’s weird, but I know what I saw!”

Before Eclipsa could respond, a loud crash came from upstairs, followed by a scream. Star, determined to find out more about Eclipsa’s explanation, raced up the steps to find out about the commotion, the former dark queen not too far behind her.

* * *

“Marco!” Star exclaimed, kicking the door open with her boot. The nursery was an absolute disaster zone, with baby toys, clothes, food, and other miscellaneous items scattered throughout the room. In the midst of the mess sat a disgruntled Marco, a baby monster girl on the top of his head, laughing and clapping her hands, and his baby sister in his lap, sucking her thumb innocently.

“What happened?” the girl asked as her eyes scanned the room. She looked back at Marco who pulled the baby off of his head, screaming as she took handfuls of his hair out from her grasping with a vice grip.

“Meteora happened,” Marco replied as he rubbed his head. “She didn’t like the food I gave her, so she chased me around and destroyed my stuff.” He picked a shred of a Mackie Hand poster out of his hair.

“Classic Meteora,” Star giggled, helping the disheveled boy to his feet.

Eclipsa covered her mouth to giggle, and Meteora hopped off the boy’s head and jumped into her arms as she innocently looked him groan from his injuries. It was hard for Star to believe that a baby caused a black eye and bruises.  However, this baby had claws, sharp teeth, and a tail.

“I guess I’ll postpone my plans with Globgor for next week,” the woman said as she stroked Meteora’s hair. “Thank you so much for watching my darling blossom, though, Marco! Same time next week?’

“Uh I dunno about-” he was silenced by an elbow jabbing him in the gut. “Ow!”

“You got it, and this time, I’ll help watch,” Star said with a smile.

“Splendid,” she replied. “I’ll see you two then. I hope things get better for you two soon.”

Eclipsa walked out of the nursery with Meteora in tow, who waved goodbye to Mariposa, who looked sad to see her best friend leaving. Marco scooped her up in his arms and shushed her as she teared up.

“Starrrrr,’ Marco groaned in annoyance, “Why did you agree to next week?”

“Oh, come on, it will be fun,” she replied, “besides, I have to make up for being a pill earlier. It could give us an excuse to spend time together.”

“It’s fine, Star, I guess I was being an idiot. I shouldn’t have freaked out like that or said those things. It was just a silly dream.” His face turned beet red as a pair of lips gently pecked his cheek.

“No, Marco. It wasn’t just a silly dream. It had to have meant something, and I know just the place we can look.”

“What are you talking about? I thought you said I shouldn’t worry,” Marco said in confusion.

“Well, you see,” she began, “Eclipsa told me more about the Blood Moon. She said her father was obsessed with it, and that it was linked to some weird room in Saint Olgas.”

“Weird room? Oh, wait… Ohhh, you mean the time when we had to break Pony Head out of prison.”

Star nodded as she leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms. “It could have something to do with the creepy dream you had last night.”

“Wait a minute… Room? Creepy dreams? Cheekmarks?” Marco furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his chin. “Star… I’m not liking this. I thought you destroyed the magic? Why would all of this be happening if magic was one hundred percent gone?”

Star felt a cold chill creep down her spine. She didn’t like this either, and the thought of magic still existing, and Eclipsa’s cryptic messages filled her with apprehension. “I don’t know, Marco. I’m confused too. But we have to find out what this means soon. We can’t just ignore all of this.”

Marco sighed as he went over and sat his baby sister in her crib. “You’re right. I… don’t want anything to happen to you. You mean too much to me.”

 _I love you too, you dork._ She smiled softly at his comment and reached for the door handle. “I guess we can worry about this in the morning. Goodnight Marco, sleep well.”

“Goodnight, Star.”

The door creaked softly as she gently shut it on him. That weird feeling came back, and for some reason, the dream worried her more and more. What could it possibly mean? Was there more than she realized?


	7. The Prophecy

**The Prophecy**

The Blood Moon hung low over a mysterious, glittery lake, leering like the eye of a predator.

Its ominous glow turned the thick, churning liquid red as it lapped against the distant shores and swirled into little eddies around Star, who stood in the middle of it. She swore she saw an island on the distant horizon when she squinted but it seemed too far away to reach. _Where am I?_ The black sky ahead was blank and starless; not even clouds floated around the red moon as if they were afraid to dwell in its presence. However, that wasn’t the most confusing part about the place. It seemed ancient and new. Familiar and unfamiliar. Close yet far away. Almost like the Realm of Magic. Star vaguely remembered the shimmering dimension and its hypnotic allure, but that was gone as was all the magic in the universe. _Right?_

Star used to be convinced that magic was destroyed, but as of late, her confidence in the fact faded. Too many weird things had happened lately to be pure, whacky coincidences. Somehow, the laser puppies, Marco’s dreams, and the cheekmarks had to be connected. And that connection, whatever it may be, must be something supernatural. _I’m going to get answers_ , the princess trudged through the shallow lake towards the island. The truth she sought was there—she just knew it. With each step, the water lapped at her knees and occasionally wet her lower thighs. The sensation felt otherworldly. It was warm and sticky yet cool too. Blood and Ice. The feeling of magic— she remembered it well. _Maybe it isn’t gone_ , she dipped her fingers into the lake, and her cheekmarks burn through her skin. If the magic still existed, then why did it act like it was gone? What was blocking it from flowing freely? Maybe it had to do with the prophecy Eclipsa mentioned. The dark words still haunted Star’s mind and whispered into her soul. They promised the coming of something sinister, and whatever it was, it was coming for her and Marco specifically.

“Star!”

Marco stepped towards her, grumbling about his wet socks under his breath. Fear and confusion flickered in his eyes, and his cheekmarks cast a gentle glow on his face and hoodie.

“Hey, Marco,” she smiled. The sight of him gave her comfort and courage in the eerie place. At least she had him, no matter what. _I’m glad our drama is over_ , she wanted to run to him but hesitated. This was just Dream Marco, and while he was just as adorable as the real thing, she knew he’d disappear if she touched him.

Yet something compelled Star to break her “look; don’t touch” rule. There was something different about this Marco. He never appeared in her dreams with his cheekmarks, and his body wasn’t hazy and translucent. Maybe she should touch him. What was the worst that could happen? If he disappeared, then she’d simply wake up and seek comfort in his arms. Cautiously, she reached out a hand to test her suspicions, laying her palm on his chest. Instead of nothingness, she felt the cotton of his hoodie, the squishiness of his flesh, and the solidness of bone. It was him.

“It’s really you!” She squealed and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Her cheekmarks pulsed brightly from the contact. They were mind-twinsies! _This is so cool!_

“I know…” he breathed, holding her close. “I can’t believe we’re together. I love you so much.”

Just as she was about to reply, something sharp plunged into her chest, driving through her ribs with a wet, sickening crunch. At first, it didn’t hurt outside of the immense pressure above her heart. It felt like someone had piled rocks on her. Then the pain came. Her heart winced in agony as it desperately tried to beat against the blade piercing its flesh, and her breathing pushed her inflamed lungs into the shards of her shattered chest. When Star coughed, she tasted blood. _I’m going to die_ , she realized with a strange calm. Then again, she had died once before. She knew the comfort of its inevitability. After all, even magic was fated to die.

"Star!” Marco cried her name in horror. Tears formed in his eyes when he beheld the reddening sword sticking out of his girlfriend’s chest.

_You can make it without me_ , she swooned as dizziness swayed her weakening body. _Be strong for me, Marco_.

But he refused to let her go, and he gripped the hilt, ignoring the blood staining his hands.“I’m not losing you!” He pulled out the weapon.

Suddenly, a torrent of blood gushed from the wound and flooded the lake in an endless cascade. Both teens simply stared in horror until the tide swept Marco under.

“Marco!” Watching him drown snapped Star out of her delirium. She had to save him, even if it meant dying in the process. Ignoring the pain, she dove after him and swam into the inky-black depths of the lake and her own blood. She searched but found nothing. _Marco!_ She frantically swam but continued to find no sign of him. _Where are you?!_ Bubbles of precious air drifted from her nostrils and from the gash in her lungs. Her strength started to ebb away, and her limbs flailed until they too gave out. With nothing to propel her forward, she sank deeper along the current.

_But I have to find him!_ she wailed.

Right before her consciousness faded away, she became aware of giant claws stretching around her and the glinting of green eyes. “ _I’m coming for you, Star Butterfly!_ ”

* * *

_Marco!_ ” Star kicked down the door, knocking it cleanly off its hinges. The boy woke up with a start and screamed.

“Star!” he clutched his heaving chest. “Oh, it’s just you, and you’re alive.” Tears wet the corners of his eyes, and they eventually escaped down his cheeks as he breathlessly sobbed.

Her fear and excitement softened into sympathy. “I’m here,” she sat on the bed with him. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

But she shuddered when the moon outside turned red. _I’m coming for you, Star Butterfly_ , the ominous warning hissed. The dark quality of the voice drew a shadow across her mind and chilled her blood. She wanted to believe it was a silly threat, she really did. That the words were nothing but frivolous imagining from her tired mind. But they breathed a heavy promise. They swore an oath to her and the Blood Moon looming outside. They were coming to pass one way or another. There was no way to avoid the tides of fate.

Marco wiped away his tears, “I’m tired of these dreams. I really am.”

“Me too,” she kept her eyes glued to the moon. “I think it’s time we found answers. The warning isn’t going away until we’ve done that much.”

“True. Didn’t you mention something about St. Olga’s before bed?”

“Oh yeah,” she remembered. “I did, but I don’t know if the creepy old school exists on Earth-ni anymore.”

Marco thought about it for a minute. “Plus Meteora destroyed it long ago. Well, let’s think of it this way: this is all tied to magic, right? How about we go to the last magical place on Earth-ni?”

“You mean Britta’s Tacos?” Star raised an eyebrow. “But it’s all abandoned and destroyed.”

“You’re right. Maybe we should just—”

“That’s the _perfect_ place to go!” she bounced off the bed.

“Ugh, I was afraid you’d say that,” he groaned. “But I’m starting to think we have some unfinished business there.”

“And we should tend to it soon,” the Blood Moon’s light grew brighter as they talked, and Star’s body tingled with a sense of urgency. “Should we call Janna and Tom?”

“Not tonight. We’re just going on an exploratory mission to see what’s there. Now, lemme get dressed.”

“Don’t be so bashful, Marco,” Star batted her eyelashes. “We have nothing to hide from each other anymore.”

He blushed and reached for his clothes. Star left him alone to get dressed, mostly because she left her outfit in the other bedroom. After they dressed, they carefully snuck out of the Diazes house and ventured into the empty, dark streets of the town. The silence was deafening. At two in the morning, even many of the clubs were shut down, and their patrons have gone to sleep off their hangovers. The wind rattled through trash cans and summoned the curious eyes of alley cats and raccoons. They flashed amber-like warning lights: _Turn back, Star Butterfly, before it's too late_. She shook her head to dismiss her premonitions. The dream might have messed with her head, but there was no need to read meaning into rangy street animals. And she was Star Butterfly. Nothing scared her!

At last, the reached the ruins of their old, favorite taco restaurant. While many things had been repaired since the Cleaving, Britta’s Tacos remained frozen in time. Only the roof and sign were visible above the black ooze drowning it in the deep hole of its resting place. Yellow caution tape, tattered by the passage of time and weather, wearily fluttered in the breeze as if they tired of warning people to stay away. Marco ventured to the edge of the solid ground and peered into the liquid, his reflection illuminated by the Blood Moon and stars.

“Here we are,” he announced halfheartedly. “But I don’t know what we’re supposed to do now since the way to the magic dimension is gone.”

Star dipped her boot in the remnants of the dead magic, “We could swim?”

“Or rent a submarine,” Marco replied. “Either way, I doubt we’re getting answers this way.”

“There’s another way to get to the bottom.”

The teens screamed and held each other as a third voice inserted itself in their conversation. Behind them, the lanky body of Oskar appeared like one of the alley cats they passed, silently and with eyes dully glinting with mischief. He had one of his keytars tethered to his thin frame.

“What are you doing here?” both Star and Marco shouted out of fear and confusion.

“I come here to compose and to get away from my mom’s boyfriend—I mean new stepfather,” his voice came out slow and glib even though his words were laden with a sad note. “Anyways, one day I was just laying in the parking lot, communing with the universe, and I heard a voice like talking to me. _Go up to come down_ , it said. First, I thought maybe I got a bad strain this time—the sellers on New Market street often cut their supply with inferior stuff. But then it kept saying it over and over. Even when I came here sober, I heard the voice. So now, I am its Keeper. I must spread the word of the Abandoned-Parking-Lot gospel to those who need it.”

Star blinked, “Uh...thanks for sharing, Oskar…”

“It’s my mission, Star Butterfly,” he bowed his head. “I went noodling inside of Britta’s one night and found a secret tunnel. The voices told me that this is the place, but I can’t go in there without you.”

Marco gently pulled Star aside for a moment. “I have a bad feeling about this,” he whispered quickly. “He’s clearly not in his right mind.”

“Oh totally,” she nodded. “I’m _so_ glad I stopped liking him. But I think we should follow him.”

“Why?” Marco said a bit too loudly, and it briefly attracted Oskar’s attention.

“We need to find the stuff we’ve seen in our dreams, and call me crazy, but I think Oskar can get us there.”

“You are crazy, but that’s what I love about you,” Marco kissed her cheek. “You’re my crazy and amazing girlfriend.”

She smiled, “Aww. Especially in bed.”

“ _Star!_ ”

She laughed and returned to Oskar, “Alright. Take us to this secret tunnel.”

“I’d be honored to,” the teen pulled out a badly-rolled joint, lit it, and took a drag of it. “Gotta hit up before the road. Want some? This is the good stuff from Highland Street.”

“No thanks,” Star and Marco refused.

“More for me, I guess. It helps me get into the adventuring spirit.”

“This was your idea,” Marco hissed to Star and went first behind Oskar.

They climbed to the top of the sign and jumped onto the orange roof of the restaurant, care not to fall into the goop below. Oskar prattled on and on about how he discovered the true meaning of the universe one night. He spoke of how the stars taught him a secret song that could unlock the “Power of Love,” which was supposedly the strongest force in existence. “I need to write it down,” he concluded his tale. “It must be known.”

“Uh-huh, cool,” Star pretended to sound interested.

“By the way, we’re here. The Sacred Entrance—the voices call it that,” Oskar removed a section of shingle and revealed a way into Britta’s Tacos. “We gotta be careful in here. The ground’s all slanty.”

“I’ll go first,” Marco offered. When he disappeared into the gloom, Star and Oskar followed. The second the princess landed in the restaurant, she nearly slid down the slick floor into a table. Her stoned guide wasn’t wrong when he said that the floor was tilted. Everything pitched towards the back of the kitchen in such a severe incline, she struggled to remain upright.

“Welcome to my divine mistress,” Oskar said proudly. “Inside of her are the deep mysteries. You know, that sounds like a good lyric.”

Star would’ve said something but the air, thick with mildew and dust, gagged her. Thin layers of fuzzy mold grew on the decayed remnants of food in containers, and a few rats scurried across the floor from the light above them. If Marco wasn’t here, she would’ve been afraid, but she remained strong for him. _The sooner we find this tunnel, the sooner we can leave_.

Carefully, they inched their way to the back of the restaurant where the meat locker used to be. The smell was unbearable, but Oskar, thankfully, took them around it. “You don’t wanna go in there,” he stated the obvious fact. “Not good at all. Deep mysteries and old meat don’t mix. That’s a good lyric too. I gotta write down this song one day. Did I tell you that?”

“You did,” Marco said sharply.

“Secret tunnel that leads to the Power of Love.” He took another hit off his joint. “Highland Street is a great place.”

They snuck through a tiny broom closet and found a hole descending into utter darkness. Either Oskar was onto something amazing or the drugs had _really_ rotted his brain. Star liked to believe the former for her own sanity. The three teens disappeared into the underground, led by the skunky smell and weak light from Oskar’s joint. Star and Marco gripped each other’s hands for dear life, refusing to let go even when the climbing grew rough. His touch kept her calm and eased the growing terror in her mind. It wasn’t hard to imagine a grisly fate lying in the shadows around them when no one could see anything.

After a long while, their feet reached solid ground, and Star let out a sigh of relief. They weren’t dead yet. “Oh, yeah, I had a flashlight the whole time,” Oskar toggled the switch and flooded the cavern with light.

“I hate him more than I ever hated Tom,” Marco muttered.

“Me too,” she replied. Now that they could see, Star knew where they were—in the entrance to the old magic portal. She saw the junk they tried to throw into the Realm of Magic to get the Firstborn’s attention. Curious, the princess went to the opening in the ground and stared into it. A thin layer of black goop covered the hole, but otherwise, there was nothing below it. The magic was gone. The way to other dimensions was sealed forever. Or so she thought. Suddenly, she lifted her eyes and spied a hole where the Glossarcyk mural used to be.

“Bingo,” Oskar coughed after his next hit. “That’s the _real_ Secret Tunnel. Ah! I’ve got the song now.” He pulled his keytar around and played a few jarring chords as he sang. “Secret Tunnel! Secret Tunnel! In the restaurant. Cosmic secrets...uh...something-something... _and die!_ ”

Neither Star or Marco clapped, but Oskar took a bow anyways. “I’m here all day and all night because I’m unemployed,” he moved his instrument to his back again. “Now, as I was saying we gotta go in there.”

“Are you sure?” asked Marco, his eyes darting between the suspicious tunnel and their crazy guide. “Maybe there’s another way around.”

Star shook her head, “Nope, he’s right. That’s the only way inside.” She didn’t know exactly _how_ she knew, but something whispered in her soul too. Not in voices, per se, but in gentle suggestions that prickled with expectation and foreboding. What they were looking for—the answers to everything—was in there. But did they have the courage to learn the truth? The whispering “voice” asked that, and Star found herself unable to answer. Dread sliced her heart to pieces like a sword.

Marco sensed her uneasiness and took her hand, “We’re in this together, Star. Don’t worry.”

She leaned against him, letting his scent calm her anxiety, “Thanks, Marco.” Then to Oskar, she said, “Alright, then let’s get going. The night will be over soon.”

“Absolutely,” he nodded. “Y’know, there was some kinda red forcefield the last time I was here preventing me from going through. Now, it’s gone. The voices were right—you are the Chosen.”

“The what?” Star and Marco glanced at each other.

“Can’t say, but that’d make a great lyric.” Oskar hummed as he climbed into the narrow tunnel, “The Chosen open the way under the great red moon. The Power of Love’s the answer, and something-something...uh, Marco, what rhymes with _answer?_ ”

“I don’t know,” he replied.

“I'll just keep thinking,” Oskar’s voice became faint with distance.

_Here we go,_ Star was about to squeeze in after him when Marco pulled her back. “Let me go in front.”

“Why?” she raised an eyebrow. “I’m not _that_ scared.”

“I know...it’s just you’re wearing a skirt and…”

“And what?”

His cheeks turned red, “I mean...if I’m behind you…”

“Oh,” she realized. “You’re saying my tush is too distracting for you.”

“Star…”

“It’s okay, Marco. It _is_ irresistible to you.”

His groan made her giggle, and she let him go in first. Plus, taking up the rear—pun intended—meant it was her job to protect against potential followers. And she had the best view of all crawling in front of her. If only reaching out to caress Marco’s cute, rounded butt was acceptable in public…

The darkness closed around them, but Star and Marco continued into the tight tunnel. The walls and ceiling scraped their backs and sides, slimy and wet from humidity. _If only I still had magic to light the way_ , the princess lamented being unable to see. Yet maybe she didn’t want to—something crawled on her arm, and she nearly shrieked. _Just focus on the quest_ , she chanted. _And Marco’s hot, boy-tush_. The image of it wiggling in her face just a few inches away calmed her down quickly.

For a long time, the darkness still kept its hold over the tunnel until tiny streams of light trickled in—slowly at first, then in great, flooding streams. Peering over Marco’s body, she saw the tunnel open into a great antechamber and smelled the skunkiness of Oskar’s joint in the musty air. After Marco helped her down into the room, she immediately recognized where they were. It was the creepy room from St. Olga’s!

“No way,” she breathed in disbelief. Eerie lizard faces sat atop stout, polished columns that framed doorways into the unknown. _They kinda look like Toffee_ , she suddenly recognized the Sepetarian’s likeness in the faces. Above them, a mural of winged monsters swooped from the sky, carrying fierce weapons to make war. But what caught Star’s attention, and Marco’s too, was the mural under their feet depicting a sun, moon, and star. Weird energy radiated from it, sending a shiver down the princess’s spine. “ _I’m coming for you, Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz_ ,” the voice from the dream echoed in the chamber. Marco huddled close to her.

Oskar took another hit off his joint and blew a reef of smoke, “That’s not the right voice, _amigos_. That’s the bad voice. He’s mean and stuff. Where’s the other voice?”

Suddenly, the mural lit up and red light filtered through the ceiling above. “ _See and know the future_ ,” someone else said.

“There we go,” Oskar chuckled. “Hi, Mr. Nice Voice. I brought them just like you told me to.”

_This is the weirdest night ever_ , Star took Marco’s hand for comfort. Their cheekmarks started to glow too, and the light was nearly blinding. Her eyes were drawn upwards, and her blood ran cold. Unless Oskar’s weed smoke was affecting her—and it certainly wasn’t—or Star had officially gone crazy, she saw the pictures move. The monsters peeled off the ceiling and swooped towards the terrified teens below, screaming and hissing with rage. Moonlight glinted off the blades...no, Star’s eyes grew wide in horror when drops of real blood ran off the grooves of swords and spears.

In an instant, the room around them changed into a charred battlefield covered in ash and littered with bodies of all people: humans and monsters, young and old, Mewmans and magical creatures. Blood soaked the black earth and created a heavy, metallic scent that soured in Star’s nose. But that wasn’t the worst of it. She made out shapes of familiar places—the Monster Temple, the Diazes’ house, Echo Creek Academy. Whatever happened wasn’t from the mural of the past but from the future…

“ _Star Butterfly,_ ” a shadowy figure strolled towards her. “ _I’ve been expecting you_.” His face was mired in darkness, so Star couldn’t see him, but she saw the skulls on his shoulder pads and found herself wishing she hadn’t. One of them had crescent moon cheekmarks and the other hearts. Marco took a step forward to defend her, but the figure tossed him aside.

“Marco!” she gasped.

“ _He can’t save you_.” A massive hand wrapped around her throat, crushing it and forcing the air out of her body. Despite her struggle and protest, Star couldn’t stop him. For the first time ever, she was truly trapped by something she could not beat. _If I had my magic..._ she longed to feel the power in her blood. She longed to have her old strength back to stop the future coming to pass. But who was she now? She traded everything to be a normal Earth girl. Now, she would die like one too.

“ _Nothing can save you,_ ” said the figure. “ _You brought the end of all things by destroying the magic. This is the future_ you _created._ ”

“No…” Star weakly coughed.

“ _It is your time to die!_ ”

A sword plunged into her chest, and the shadow flung her to the ground. As he turned to walk away, the Blood Moon cast a red beam over her, drawing the gazes of both the figure and Star. The Prophecy had been written for both of them.

The vision ended there, returning Star, Marco, and Oskar to the room. “That was an experience,” Oskar said in his usual tone. “‘The Prophecy’...sounds like a nice band name.”

“Can we please not do this right now?” Marco scowled. “This isn’t a joke, Oskar.”

“Oh, I know it isn’t. You had to see that to know what’s at stake. Now, you gotta finish the ceremony.”

“The what?”

“The pictures what you do something else, but I think it’s too late. It’s dawn now.”

Whether or not Oskar or Marco said anything after that, she did not know for Star bolted out of Britta’s Tacos and into the morning. _You can’t run from the Prophecy_ , the Blood Moon warned as the sun’s glory forced the last of the night away.


	8. The Split & Devil May Care

**The Split**

Eclipsa couldn’t sleep at all that night. Everything bothered her—her warm bed, Globgor’s snoring, the darkness of the room—and she didn’t know why. Why did her soul prickle with an urgent sense she couldn’t shake? All was well on Earth-ni. Or at least it  _ seemed _ that way after the calamity of the Cleaving. Between Moon’s ambitions and Star’s dream, the dark queen knew trouble was brewing under the surface. Perhaps, that was why sleep could not find her. As much as Eclipsa longed to shield Star from the issues lying within the dimension and the prophecies stirred up by the Blood Moon, she could not anymore. It was time for the truth to be revealed, even if it shattered the princess’s desire for a normal, carefree life.

_ I have to tell her about Moon _ , Eclipsa sighed and sank deeper under the covers. From her bedroom in the Monster Temple, she spied the mushroom-shaped spires of the Butterfly castle in the distance, bared like dulled fangs. But even they could bite and leave a nasty wound. Whatever Moon had planned would only lead to more pain and division in the future. However, the real issue that plagued Eclipsa’s mind was the mysterious, red moon gazing over one place in Earth-ni. The strange energy invigorated her like a cup of Earth coffee—the black, bitter lightning humans drank in the morning. 

As she reclined in bed, Eclipsa remembered the stories her father used to fill her mind with during his sparse visits. He knew so much about the Blood Moon and made it his life’s work to uncover its deepest secrets. Before he sailed into the Western Sea, never to be seen or heard from again, he visited her one last time, and Eclipsa remembered that night well. He appeared the way he always did, out of the mists of the shipping canal on a small dinghy. But this time, he did not stay long. He came to say goodbye. She’d asked why, and his raspy response still rang in her ears to this very day:  _ The Blood Moon has deemed me worthy to know its secrets, so I must go West. Further than any Mewman has ever gone. I leave you with simple instructions, my evening star, find out the Prophecy of the Blood Moon with Globgor. It will save us all _ . 

Perhaps, there was truth in his words. Eclipsa gently poked Globgor’s shoulder to wake him up. With a roaring yawn, he stretched and turned to meet her, the bed creaking under his massive frame. “What is wrong, my darkest star?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. “Can’t sleep? Do you need a massage or some chamomile tea?” 

While both sounded pleasing, she declined, “Not tonight, Globby. Instead, I want to talk for a bit.”

“I’m all ears,” he laughed and shrunk to a size where his ears would seem larger.

“Oh, Globby,” she giggled but then grew serious again. Her eyes lifted towards the Blood Moon, and her husband followed her gaze. 

“Ah, the Blood Moon,” he nodded. “That old story. Is that what’s on your mind?”

“I guess so.”

Globgor leaned against the headboard and began, “It’s a story passed down to us monsters for generations. Stories of lovers being bound together by its red light. I know your father wanted that to happen to us, but we were three hundred years too early and too late.”

“Do you think it’s true?” Eclipsa asked.

“Your people worship a giant dead tree,” Globgor said with an amused laugh. “Of course, the Blood Moon is real. The truth of its power can only be revealed to the couple it chooses. It is a deep mystery.”

“Oh.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I think Star and Marco are the Chosen.”

Globgor’s eyes grew wide, and Eclipsa went on, “I don’t know much about it, but I think there’s a prophecy around them about to be revealed.”

“If there’s a prophecy, then there’s danger coming,” Globgor shuddered as he spoke, and a sudden breeze chilled the room. Even the Blood Moon’s light became harsh, turning into a crimson drop of blood smearing in the night sky. 

“What kind of danger?”

“I dunno. I thought the end of magic took care of our enemies,” Globgor sighed. “Clearly not. In fact, I wonder if not having magic has made us more vulnerable. And if Star and Marco are targeted…”

“—I have to tell Moon,” Eclipsa cut in. “I know we have a rocky relationship, but Star’s her daughter. She needs to know.”

“I have my thoughts about Moon, but I agree that she must know.”

A yawn parted Eclipsa’s lips, and she settled back into bed. Despite her dark premonitions, her body still needed rest, especially with the long day of truth-telling ahead. “Thanks for the talk, Globby,” she said. “I think I’m going to bed now and will tell Moon first thing when I wake up.”

He kissed her on the cheek and wrapped his massive arms around her tiny body. His shadow blocked the troubling light of the Blood Moon and allowed sleep to claim Eclipsa at last.

* * *

The magnificent windows of Butterfly castle flashed brightly in the morning sunlight. Eclipsa paused and gazed at them, blown away by their newness. She’d almost forgotten the castle's splendor. It was a colorful mountain, gleaming like a precious jewel, that dwarfed the rest of Earth-ni in its shadow. As much as Butterfly castle brought back bitter memories of oppression, it was nice to see it restored to its former glory.  _ Now, let’s hope we leave behind a legacy worthy enough for it,  _ Eclipsa thought solemnly as she spied the monster workers traveling past her in crowded wagons full of furniture and other decorations for the inside. Regardless of what happened on Mewni, whoever sat on the throne now had to be ready to forge a path forward. 

_ I just hope Moon let’s progress run its course,  _ Eclipsa glanced up at the Blood Moon in a silent prayer for guidance, then continued on her way. She found Moon exactly where she thought she would be: in the great throne room. The former queen was busy barking orders to her workers about where to set the massive, blue throne. “No, no, not there.  _ There! _ ” She pointed quickly towards a spot on the platform above her. “In the middle. It must be in the middle!”

The monsters grunted and strained under their heavy load but obeyed their commands. They tentatively set it down once more and nervously glanced at Moon for approval. She marched closer and squinted her eyes, which made them freeze in panic. “That’ll do,” she decided coldly. “For now. Run along. It appears that I have a visitor.”

The monsters hastily exited the room, their feet echoing against the polished, blue stone as they departed. Soon after, Moon turned to Eclipsa, “What is it?” There was no warmth in her voice or in the frown etched on her thin, gray brow.

“The castle looks lovely, Moon,” Eclipsa said. “I can just imagine the old days when the halls were filled with visiting lords and ladies.”

Her flattery softened Moon’s expression, even teasing a smile on her sullen face. “Ah, yes,” she tittered and turned towards the main stained-glass window, which depicted a fat unicorn flanked by important scenes from history and butterflies. “It’ll be great to have those old days again.”

“Yeah…” 

“Like the window art?” Moon asked. “It was just installed yesterday.”

Eclipsa cringed at the heroic portrayal of the past queens without any mention of monsters, warfare, and brutality. It was disheartening to see that Moon wanted to sanitize important history for the sake of appearances. Earth-ni deserved to know the full truth, especially since the newer generations looked up to the old for wisdom.  _ And where’s Star? _ Eclipsa noticed that the current ruler was conveniently missing from the rest. To answer Moon, she dipped her head politely, “It is a very interesting interpretation of history.”

“The true history.”

“Right…” Eclipsa swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

“What brings you here? I doubt it’s to admire the floor molding.”

_ You got me there _ , Eclipsa nodded, “It’s about Star.”

“What about her?”

“I think she and Marco are in mortal danger,” Eclipsa went on, trying to sound as serious as possible. “I talked to her yesterday, and she confessed something to me. She’s been having Blood Moon dreams.” 

“The Blood Moon?”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t heard that tale in a long time,” Moon said without looking at Eclipsa. In fact, her eyes remained glued to the stained-glass as if it held the answers to the universe and everything. An eerie silence filled the room for a long time. 

“Moon?” Eclipsa broke the silence. “Are you okay? Look, I know the return of the Blood Moon is scary and—”

“—Do you think the monsters made my nose too big?” Moon pointed to the facsimile of herself standing on a miniature roof of the castle. In the mural, she looked down over a crowd of monsters and Mewmans bowing down in complete adoration. 

Eclipsa blinked as the other queen went on, “Ugh, stupid monster craftsmen! I knew they’d do this just to spite me. I’ll have them come back at once to—” She never finished her sentence for Eclipsa stormed in her face. If she had magic, she would’ve smacked Moon across the jaw with a blast from the wand—not caring if it infected the queen with Dark Magic or not.

“Are you even  _ hearing _ yourself, Moon?” the dark queen spat. “You care about a dumb mural when Star’s life is in danger! The Blood Moon is a big deal. If its magic has an effect on Star and Marco, then we need to do something.”

Moon brushed her off, “It’s just a silly monster story.”

“But what if it isn’t! Also, what’s wrong with monster stories?”

“It’s a myth.”

“So you’re willing to gamble on your own daughter’s safety?”

“Why do you care, Eclipsa?”

“Because I’ve watched how you’ve treated her since the Cleaving,” she grew hotter and angrier by the second. “With utter contempt. Like she’s in the way of  _ your _ petty glory. You pushed her down a mountain for the crown, for corn’s sake! What if she died?”

Moon’s eyes softened for a split second, but the same hardness from earlier glossed over swiftly after. “You couldn’t even care for your own people as queen,” she retorted. “Now, you have the  _ nerve _ of telling me how to run my family…”

“Well, at least I treat Star with the love she deserves,” Eclipsa took a step forward. “I’m a better mother to her than you ever have!” Her words echoed in the great hall, followed by the piercing  _ slap _ of a hand connecting to her cheek viciously. Eclipsa recoiled and rubbed her stinging face, cowering in fear at the rage on Moon’s face.

“That is enough out of you,” Moon said scarcely above a whisper. “Get out. Get out of this castle and stop this nonsense about the Blood Moon. The magic is gone. It is gone.” 

Part of Eclipsa wanted to stand and fight, but what would that solve? Moon was set in her ways and refused to see her hand in the demise of the kingdom, just like the queens of old.  _ I’ll handle this myself then _ , the dark queen turned and marched out of the castle. She meant what she said too. Star always came to her when the weight of princess duties became overbearing and sought her advice in relationships. Moon never offered her anything useful.  _ I wish she were my child _ , Eclipsa let out a heavy sigh as soon as she left the castle. If she had been her mother, she could have spared her from so much pain. Star was never going to fit the traditional mold of a queen; why force her to?

Suddenly, Eclipsa heard panting, and she looked up to see Star standing in front of her, out of breath and with eyes red from crying. “What happened, dear?” Eclipsa put a hand over her face.

“I just need to be away from Marco for a bit,” her voice trailed away. The queen greeted her with a warm hug, needing the embrace herself too.  _ There’s so much we need to discuss _ , she breathed. But first, she needed to help Star. 

“Is it about the Blood Moon?”

Star said nothing and cried in Eclipsa’s arms.

* * *

  
**Demon May Care**

“Ahh, there’s nothing more refreshing than a hot lava shower,” Tom sighed contently as he reached for the facet.

The steady stream of lava diminished into a trickle, then disappeared, leaving the dripping demon prince alone in the dark granite stall. He leaned against the smooth walls and let the excess roll off his purple skin and onto the floor, where the lava cooled into tiny glass beads that slid into the drain. There was nothing on Earth-ni more refreshing than a nightly lava shower. It soothed the soul, relaxed the mind, and burned away every germ and blemish from the body. Tom honestly couldn’t imagine how humans settled for bathing in mere tap water. How disgusting!

After drying off partly, he reached for the pink towel on the hook and walked into the cavernous bathroom. His feet sizzled on the heated floor, releasing even more steam in the air. As he passed the sink, he paused to marvel at his reflection.  _ Who’s the most handsome devil out there? _ Tom smirked at the magnificent creature staring back at him. Lucitors were certainly known for their looks with their refined features, well-proportioned bodies, and amazing demon eyes. The Mewman half of him through his father only accentuated his natural beauty, softening the boorishness of pointy ears and sharp horns. In other words, it was easy to see why Prince Thomas Lucitor, heir to the Underworld throne, was a favorite among the princesses, especially with Star. But those days were long over, and it was better this way.

_ I wonder what Diaz has under that hoodie, _ Tom suddenly wondered, though the thought sounded strange in his head. In his voice. But seriously, he had to know what exactly Star liked about Marco since he seemed so average in build, height, and frame. What could the human boy possibly have that he didn’t…?  _ Actually, I don’t wanna know, _ Tom dismissed the thought and his eyes twitched when he came upon a realization. But even if  _ that  _ were the case, he bet his equipment was better. After all, there were a few succubi on his mother’s side.

“Regardless, I’m still the coolest,” Tom said with a huff and opened the door to his bedroom.

Steam billowed around him, shrouding the room in a thin haze. The stalactites and stalagmites stick out of the wisps like threatening black claws, but he loved the look of them. Of all the rooms in the castle, his was the most unique as a cross between an angsty teen bedroom and a torture chamber. Near his bed, the lava pool provided ambient heat and light, which glinted off of chains, torture devices, and videogames scattered about the room. The rest of the castle was creepier, as the Lucitors loved their collection of screaming souls, bloodied weapons, and dangerous ghouls. When royal guests came to visit, however, the servants locked away anything too weird. The Butterflys may be warmongering, bug-queens, but they hated being scared.

But in his room, Tom was free to be whoever he wanted to be.  _ And it’s time to free the tail _ , he dropped the towel to his ankles.

“ _ Tom! _ ”

“Marco?!” Tom suddenly noticed his best friend sitting on the bed, staring in horror at his bare demon butt cheeks, and he hastily covered himself with the towel. “What the heck are you doing in my room?!”

And how did Marco even get to the Underworld without dimensional scissors? The kingdom never advertised its new location in Janna’s basement, and even if it did, Marco would’ve had to survive a long journey across lava fields, rivers of souls, and fiery lakes to reach the castle. Either the boy was the dimension’s best stalker or  _ extremely  _ desperate to hang out.  _ I think the latter _ , Tom noticed his tear-stained cheeks and puffy red eyes. Something horrible must have happened for Marco shivered like a lost puppy in a forest, miserable and lowly, waiting for a car to roll by and see him.  _ Or waiting for the car to run him over _ , Tom thought darkly. For a second, he thought about calling the Sad Teen Hotline.

When Marco didn’t answer, Tom sat next to him and carefully rearranged his towel. “What’s up, bro?” he asked. “How are things going between you and Starship?”

Sniffling, Marco buried his face in his shoulder and started to sob.  _ Are you okay? _ Tom recoiled but eventually rubbed his friend’s back in response. When he tried to move away, the boy clung to him for dear life, covering his skin in briny tears.  _ Ugh, and I just got cleaned! _ Tom bit his lip to keep from complaining.

“Oh, Tom,” Marco wailed pitifully. “There’s something going on between me and Star, and it’s so horrible.”

“Did you get her pregnant?” he gasped.

The question made the weeping boy sit up straight in an instant. “ _ No! _ No, it’s not like that at all!” he insisted.

“Suure.”

Everyone in the dimension knew about their  _ Parking Lot Tycoon  _ sessions. They frequently made headlines in the tabloids, thanks to Pony Head’s new column:  _ The Dirt on Starco _ . People made bets on when Star would get pregnant, and the consensus was sooner rather than later.

“Okay, did you two break up?” Tom asked again.

“No…”

_ Of course not _ , he knew the idea of Star and Marco breaking up was as inconceivable as the stars falling from the sky. They were the glue that cleaved the dimensions together after all. If they  _ ever _ split, then the world would end right then and there.

“So, if you two didn’t break up or get knocked up, then what’s the big deal?” Tom lashed his tail.

Marco sighed, “It’s hard to explain…”

“Try me,” Tom dared. “I’m the prince of the Underworld—nothing’s too weird for me.”

“We were exploring the old Britta’s Taco last night to find answers about these horrible dreams we’ve been having. They’re related to the Blood Moon.”

“The Blood Moon?” Tom echoed.

He thought since the magic was destroyed that he could escape the guilt of his biggest mistake. The Blood Moon Ball was far from his proudest moment. He tried to use its mysterious magic to make Star fall in love with him, but, thankfully, it backfired. Instead of leaving the Blood Moon’s choice as confirmation that Star and Marco were destined to be together, Tom just  _ had _ to mettle again and cause them to break their bond. Ever since the Cleaving, he hoped the past would stay in the past. Since the magic was gone, even if the bond did mean something to his friends, it would’ve disappeared anyways.  _ Right? _

Marco nodded, “Yeah. Star and I have been having these terrible dreams…and I dunno, after last night, I’m afraid she won’t love me again.”

_ That’s freakin’ ridiculous, dude _ , Tom rolled his eyes at his hysteria but felt intrigued by the Blood Moon dreams. Because he was stubbornly focused on getting Star to fall in love with him at the Blood Moon Ball, he skipped a lot of research about its origins and what it did to the couple it bound together. Now, he had to help Marco get to the bottom of things.  _ And out of my bedroom _ , Tom decided.

“Hey, Marco,” he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Why don’t we discuss this Blood Moon stuff over a game of ping-pong?”

The boy eyed the game table on the far side of the room, then slowly nodded, “Okay. But can you put some clothes on first?”

“Didn’t like what you saw?” Tom flashed him a crooked smile. When Marco didn’t respond, he sighed, “I’m kidding, but yes, I can put on something decent.”

After a few moments, Tom reemerged from the bathroom fully clothed and with a sly grin on his face. Energy surged in his body as he looked forward to slaying Marco again in their old game. He sauntered to the ping-pong table—the miniature green battlefield—and summoned two paddles and a bucket of balls. “I don’t care how sad you are about Starship,” he playfully jeered, tossing a paddle to Marco. “I’m gonna kick your butt!”

Marco rubbed his nose on his sleeve, but Tom saw the fire burning in his hazy brown eyes. It was one he knew well as his old romantic rival. Though the days of fighting over Star were long over, they still never backed down from a good challenge. The boys squared off like fighting stags, sizing each other up with heated glares.

“I’m still good at ball sports,” Marco taunted.

“We’ll see about that, Diaz!” Tom smirked devilishly.

“You better not cheat this time. No more balls guided by demons.”

The prince clucked his tongue and pouted, “You’re no fun.” He begrudgingly obliged the request and freed the demons trapped in the plastic balls. They hissed in gratitude as they rose out of the bucket and disappeared into the air. “Happy?” Tom grumbled.

“Thanks, buddy,” Marco smiled.

Without his minions to help him, Tom became even more determined to beat the mole off his rival’s face. He served the first ball with a gentle tap of the paddle. Marco met it instantly, and the boys exchanged the ball several times in a rhythmic beat.  _ Tap. Bounce. Tap. Bounce. Tap. Bounce.  _ The hollow pings were both hypnotizing and maddening on Tom’s end. His instincts begged for bloodlust. He missed watching Marco duck when a ball steered towards him or yelp when it smacked his skull. Where was the fun in being on equal footing?  _ Maybe I should’ve possessed the paddles _ , he flicked his tail when Marco scored a point on a fast return.

The boy smiled for the first time tonight. “You’re getting soft, Tom!”

“I let you have that one!” he argued.

“Sure…”

“Shut up and serve, Diaz. At least I don’t have girl problems.” After meeting Marco’s serve, Tom added, “Tell me about the dreams.”

“I don’t know where to begin,” Marco said with sorrow heavy in his voice.

“Try me…DAMMIT!”

The ball whizzed right passed Tom’s ear and rolled across the floor. If it weren’t for the fact that Marco was still upset, he would burst into flames and give him a  _ real _ game to remember.

“Geez, Lucitor, watch your language.”

“Like you’re one to talk. I’ve heard the noises you make with Starship at night.”

Marco suddenly froze and his eyes grew wide in horror. “Y-you can…?”

“I’m a demon, Marco. I’m cursed with really good hearing,  _ and _ the Monster Temple is above the castle.” The memories made Tom shudder.

“Oh…I’m so sorry.”

“Anyways, let’s get back to the dreams.” Tom wanted to forget the screams, and he could tell Marco wanted to drop the subject just as much.

“Right, the dreams,” Marco set down his paddle and thought for a moment. “Star always died in them…and,” he swallowed a lump in his throat, “I was responsible for her death.”

“Ah, classic Blood Moon dream,” Tom nodded and flexed the paddle in his hands.

“Are you taking this seriously?”

“Don’t worry,” Tom said. “I am. Now, I don’t know a ton about the Blood Moon, but I know a thing or two about prophetic dreams. They’re usually way worse than what’ll actually happen. Like I  _ seriously _ doubt you’d kill your girlfriend.”

“That’s great!” Marco laughed softly in relief—one Tom didn’t necessarily share.

Although he was right about his statement, it didn’t mean that Star wasn’t in serious danger from something or someone else. No one on Earth-ni seemed to be after their new leader, which only deepened the mystery. Plus, the Blood Moon was an ancient power, so the threat against Star and Marco had to be powerful and old as well.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Marco,” Tom warned. “We’re not out of the woods here. The Blood Moon is calling you and Star to solve a mystery, and you have to face it.”

“But she ran when we saw a vision in Britta’s Tacos.”

“You need to do two things,” the demon held up his fingers. “One, find what the Blood Moon wants you to find, and two, find Starship. While I’m not a Blood Moon expert, I know my ex extremely well. She’s never going to directly confront her feelings unless you make her. I bet she’s scared, but you two are a team. You’ll figure it out together.”

Marco smiled and pulled Tom in for a hug. “Thanks for being a good friend,” he murmured into his shoulder.

“That’s what I’m here for,” the demon suppressed a purr tickling in his throat. “I can come with you to Britta’s if you need the support.”

“Can I come too?”

“JANNA!” The boys jumped apart when the mischievous girl casually strolled into the room, carrying a soda.

She smirked and took a sip, “I didn’t know you had guests over, Tom, or I would’ve rescheduled your nightly massage.”

“A nightly _what?_ ” Marco stared at Tom, who blushed and looked away.

“D-don’t look at me like that,” he sputtered. “It’s strictly platonic.”

“Uh-huh, sure…Strictly platonic, post-shower massages…”

“Don’t get smug, Diaz.”

Janna cut in, “Anyways, if you’re going to do Blood Moon things, I’m your expert. When do we get started?”

“The sooner, the better,” Marco glanced at his phone for the time. “So let’s go.”


End file.
